Archive

Qatsi Trilogy

Powaqqatsi : Life in Transformation

Godfrey Reggio

USA1988 99min 35mm Color

Synopsis

Like the previous film, the main component in this movie is also 'a visual association of images.'The slight difference is that if the former film showed completely different images through a visual association of form, then this film is an association of similar images in completely different locations. For example, a shot of about four people rowing then changes to a shot of people hoeing in a field which shifts to people of various religions all over the world praying then transforming to a scene of dance by people dressed in colorful folk garb and then to a broad range of folk customs in third world countries that might be considered less developed (or less tainted). The sequential scenes jump all over the place. Another difference in terms of structure this film has from the former are the abstract images constructed through multiple exposures and out-of-focus shots. If the first film portrayed materialistic civilization (even up to the world of the microchip) through abstract images brought about through slow shutter speed in the last part, then the second film illustrates the superimposing of time through multiple exposures, which in terms of literary impression is the alienation of man. Furthermore, the rhythm of color, brought upon by out-of-focus shots and the like in the end, comes alive wonderfully just like in the beginning the rhythm of the dance movements are elevated to a rhythm of color evocative of the ballet dancer paintings of Edgar Degas. We will not go into the invasion of Western civilization (which everyone can comprehend) or the alienation brought upon by development or the 'National Geographic-like 'perspective of seeing the third world through third world eyes. It would take away from the pleasure of watching this film. (Donghyun Park)

Diretor

Godfrey Reggio

Godfrey Reggio is an inventor of a film style which creates poetic images of extraordinary emotional impact for audiences worldwide. Reggio is prominent in the film world for his QATSI trilogy, essays of visual images and sound which chronicle the destructive impact of the modern world on the environment. In 1974 and 1975, with funding from the American Civil Liberties Union, Reggio co-organized a multi-media public interest campaign on the invasion of privacy and the use of technology to control behavior. (1983), Reggio's debut as a film director and producer, is the first film of the QATSI trilogy. The title is a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance." (1988), Reggio's second film, conveys a humanist philosophy about the earth, the encroachment of technology on nature and ancient cultures, and the splendor that disappears as a result. In 1991 Reggio directed , a film commissioned by Bvlgari, the Italian jewelry company, for the World Wide Fund for Nature which used the film for its Biological Diversity Program. In 1993, Reggio was invited to develop a new school of exploration and production in the arts, technology, and mass media being founded by the Benetton company. Called Fabrica - Future, Presente, it opened in May, 1995, in Treviso, Italy, just outside Venice. While service as the initial director of the school through 1995, Reggio co-authored the 7 minute film which provides another point of view to observe the subtle but profound effects of modern living on children. Godfrey Reggio directed (2002), the final film of the QATSI trilogy.