There are several sequences that I guarantee would never have been in this film had Baraka not existed. Seeing them done the way they are here, even with the admittedly good cinematography, is kind of hard to take--like giving Baraka the Wayans Brothers treatment, sullying the purity and wonder of the original.
I did however love the little girl. If she were a real life orphan I'd adopt her! Just adorable.
You sure know that Baraka is a documentary film, which means all the events recorded were REAL cultural/natural/industrial events being MANIPULATED by Baraka and MANY OTHER art and commercial mediums, neither which originally created by the creator of Baraka nor Baraka was the first to use those images.
by this fact, Baraka director DOESN'T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO SUE anybody for that laughable reason, including suing Madonna and my country Indonesian rock band Dewa for using the Whirling Dervish in their music videos. The Kecak Monkey dance/chant is from my home country Bali.
You make no sense at all. Very juvenile accusations.
Are you kidding? Directors do this all the time! Hollywood is constantly borrowing from each other. I've never seen Baraka but I do know that directors are forever "borrowing" from others.
Where will you spend eternity?
It's called intertextuality and is pretty much what contemporary cinema often uses in place of originality and imagination. Pastiche and parody are probably two of the most used types of intertextual referencing you'll be familiar with, eg. all the pop culture references in The Simpsons, Family Guy or the Scary Movie franchise.
I think Tarsem Singh does a good job with his intertextual referencing, with special attention to folklore, classical mythology and iconic cinema. Ron Fricke who, it has to be said, is one of the masters of cinematography, and is an obvious influence on Tarsem Singh, as is Jonathan Glazer, Ridley Scott, Rob Reiner (specifically, The Princess Bride), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, to name a few. The list of influences could go on, and back to the very beginnings of storytelling itself. This is because The Fall is a fantasy film about the redemptive nature of stories based in a world where cinema is the main storytelling medium.
I agree with the 'homage' nature of the Baraka scenes that you describe as "intertextual". I had never heard that word before so I went and looked it up - I now know a new word! Thanks!
I must say though I was a little perplexed by the Baraka references. While one or even two of them in the movie might seem like having taken 'natural' references then adding them coincidentally, so many of them (I count at least four of the top of my head) seems blatantly deliberate.
I suppose it might come down to the makers view on what they think Baraka is about ...
I know I have my own opinion on that and it does seem to fit The Fall. x]
To anyone still reading this I suggest watching Baraka. While on the surface it seems like only 'pictures' set to music, I personally find it incredibly beautiful and meaningful and often quite horrifying and confronting. Which is how I feel about The Fall as well. xD
The last few lines of your argument are so spot on and the language you used is so precise I actually teared up a bit. Very eloquent and reflective and.. <3
~The World is Changed because YOU are made of Ivory and Gold.~
Its called "inspiration". I noticed the Baraka influences too but, note the word I use; influence. Durrrrrrh.
share