The film starts with what is assumed to be a wall painting of the Hopi tribe. With a sudden explosion, we hear chants of 'Koyaanisqatsi' and a spaceship slowly rises from the fire. The scene then moves to a quiet desert region in Arizona and as if making the sign of the cross, the camera moves left to right, up and down. The editing from this point on is like the visual association of the surrealistic automatism technique. It presents the dusty sand of a desert, which is then substituted with fluid clouds and then switches to an image of flowing water. These images are inter-cut with one another. The two flowing images (clouds and water) are a perfect match with each other through speed manipulation in the camera. The clouds were shot in fast motion while the water flows slowly having been shot in slow motion. The speed of the two is almost the same. The movement of the clouds quickens a little and then the camera itself becomes a cloud as it weaves over the desert and lake. The moment the camera arrives at an island, there is a sudden explosion with an enormous tractor with the number six appearing on it. However, there are not three sixes but two. A person gets on this tractor, raising a cloud of dust. At this point the screen starts to fill with massive structures built by man instead of pictures of nature. The images of oil pipes, power lines, factories etc., are the opposites of the Arizona desert at the beginning of the film. Pictures of enclosed water are contrasted with images of flowing water and clouds. This contrast is not just a simple comparison but like a musical variation. 'A visual association of images,'these are the keywords for this film. Instead of a symbolism denoting a literary meaning, it is an impression or characteristic coming from this arrangement of images through visual association. Therefore, it is the intent of the filmmaker NOT to show something or tell anything. If you were to follow the film's images from beginning to end, you would come to the natural conclusion that 'man is destroying nature.' However, just as Jean Cocteau in demonstrates a queer beauty by portraying the beast's castle through a surreal fantasy, the filmmaker expresses the enormous monstrosities of modern materialistic civilization through his own warm, beautiful gaze. A near perfect composition and rich colorful photography also nearly perfect maximize the visual enjoyment of the film. In particular, the unique rhythm, shown throughout the film, constructed by the destruction of time and matched to the music of Phillip Glass, adds another dimension of fun for the viewer. The following are the Hopi chants in the film. If there should be anything that the director wanted to say in words, instead of showing the images, it might all be in these lyrics. "If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster." "Near the Day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky." "A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the ocean."