The feelings I had regarding this documentary are quite
out of the ordinary. At first, I was very confused on what was happening. All
of the slow motion cloud movements and barren landscape footage took me off
guard because I was trying to figure out what Godfrey Reggio was trying to
convey to me. Then it hit me. It was neither the bizarre time lapses nor the
unique film shooting venues but the juxtaposition of Phillip Glass's music. The
music provided a very in depth tone that made me think about the true beauty
behind the footage being shown. Without the use of the music, I probably would
not have sat through the entirety of the film. The music was essentially the only
thing that kept me hooked on the documentary, solely because of the dramatic
effects it caused. The use of this intense orchestral music made everything seem
so much more intense than it really was. I really enjoyed watching these
scenes: the nuclear explosions. The use of the booming music accompanying the nuclear explosions
made it seem like a much more passionate montage. The fact that it did not have
any diction simply made it a challenge for the viewer to figure out the true
meaning behind the film. I really do not know the true meaning behind the film,
but I exclusively tend to believe that it was to recognize the true beauty
behind nature by thoroughly examining it through the lenses of a slow motion
camera.
I agree with you about the film score in this documentary. Movies, video games, and virtually any other electronic entertainment all rely on subtle music to convey emotion, whether it be suspense, grief, or excitement. Rarely, though, does one get to see a documentary where the music takes on the enormous role it does in Koyanniqatsi.
ReplyDeleteI was very confused at first too. The music did provide some insight into the movie, however I really hated the music so the film was really hard for me to sit through. I would rather there be narration, which is strange because I thought I would enjoy this film because of no narration.
ReplyDeleteThe explosion scenes were my favorite too. Something about seeing them paired with melodies rather than "KABOOM" removed all the devastation from them, making them seem beautiful. It sort of makes one reconsider how they feel about things in nature based on the sounds they make.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the music did make things much more interesting than they would have been otherwise. The scene that comes to mind for me is the scene where it just shows 2 planes after landing. Without the music, it would have just been boring and pointless.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the music really added to the impact such as the scene with the slow motion of the crash test dummies!
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