kevjfarrell Great imagery in this movie set to hypnotic music. No story line as we know it, but a look at how the world is changing and becoming more westernized. Some superb filming and thought provoking images. You really need to sit and watch this without interruptions to get the full effect. It's a great insight in seeing aspects of life from civilizations that many of us never experience. A lot of what you see on this film is more than you would if you vacationed at these places as they are far removed from the tourist traps. I find it fascinating to see other cultures and how they live their lives. On many occasions you can witness a lot of western influences on these people - a lot for the worse!!! If you've watched Koyaanisqatsi, then you will more than likely enjoy this. If you haven't seen it, then make that your next one to watch - that movie is based on North American culture. I enjoyed this one!

zolaaar Great film if you just want to let loose your mind and abandon all other thoughts. As expected, the wealth of the images to a wonderful score is nothing less than fantastic, this time closer to people's faces while they're working their asses off, struggling with dirt, dust and garbage or just staring right into the camera, often a little uncertain, sometimes with proudness, but never with pride and always quite affecting. Alle these worn out, contemplative Third World faces we see in close-up or in half distance show the mortality and vigour, the pettiness and dignity of mankind at the same time - that's the underlying beauty of this overwhelmingly ugly world. There's one particular image that I've kept till today: in a reoccurring scene taking place somewhere in the Middle East, Reggio focuses his lenses at a little girl in tears and dust clouds steering a racing horse cart over a bumpy road always in danger to fall over while, which seems to be, her father lies next to her on the box, unable to move and seemingly wasted. She is obviously in pain and desperation and yet masterfully manages her difficult situation (to drive her drunken father home?), probably not for the first time. Quite powerful.

Rodrigo Amaro Get out of all the everyday's confusion, run away from the troubles you have and for one moment just think about what life's is all about, why we are here on this planet with this life. Make some reflections of why we end up destroying our world while trying to make better things for ourselves. And most important: realize that this parasitic way of life (consumations, explorations, degradations, etc.) that reaches a life's transition from some point to another distant point is the same thing that make us live and evolve and it can also make us die. Stop everything and watch Godfrey Reggio's second installment of his Qatsi trilogy "Powaqqatsi". This is art and philosophy at its best, together!I'm a little suspect to talk about these powerful and beautiful documentaries since I'm a big fan of all of them and my perception on each film is a mix of things that in the end leaves me speechless. Reggio's take on this film goes almost the same way the other two "Koyaanisqatsi" (1983) and "Naqoyqatsi" (2001): countless images taken from around the world (10 countries including Brazil, Egypt, Hong Kong, Peru and others), images that take us back to the wild, forests, deserts, reminding us of how the world was at one day, later making a contrast with our modern world of cities, computers, technologies, cars, the polluted and almost destroyed world; the endless and inadequate balance between war and peace, joy and sadness, power and weakness; beautiful and fantastic panoramic shots of places followed by the great music by Philip Glass. "Powaqqatsi" (which means "Parasitic way of life" or "life in transformation" in the Hopi language) reflects about how the third world countries were affected by the evolution of better developed countries in terms of production, exportation, technology, the impact on culture and other things. The first image of the film is powerful and very memorable: an enormous line of suffering miners in Serra Pelada, one of the biggest gold mines to appear in Brazil in the 1980's, and you see the miners long walking in it, you see them by the thousands. From this point, just follow the images, the sounds, the way people look at the camera, reflecting on something we don't know and think about how small we are in this vast world that seems so far away but at the same time it might be so close to us all.I enjoyed it a lot this film although a little bit less than the others since the way the theme was explored until finally reach its conclusion, explaining what the title means, was distractive at parts, sometimes the images just went way too far for a purpose in which I couldn't find any. The music was good but Glass placed his more common materials in soundtracks like the violins and keyboards on the side, turning his preference to horns, trumpets, percussions and more noisy instruments and in the end it wasn't a much memorable soundtrack. But these are minor complaints of a outstanding work and must not be taken so seriously.If you like meditation through films, stunning images that can make you smile, cry, think, feel, make your heart beat, things that can hypnotize you in a great way, a stir of the senses in just one media "Powaqqatsi" is perfect for you. Don't even blink for a second! 10/10

Jay Ducharme Koyaanisqatsi is one of my all-time favorite films. I eagerly awaited the release of Powaqqatsi. I ended up somewhat disappointed, though. Philip Glass' musical score is brilliant and powerful. Many of the images in the film (for example, the boy driving his pony cart through a traffic jam) are vivid and memorable. But unlike Reggio's first film, Powaqqatsi doesn't all come together as well. Koyaanisqatsi was structured like a visual thesis, with a premise and a systematic development of the premise to the powerful conclusion (technology is destroying humanity). There's no such story arc in Powaqqatsi. I felt drained at the end, but I also felt confused. I wasn't sure what to think about the visual overload I had just experienced. Perhaps that was Reggio's intent, to leave the audience to fill in the blanks. But I really wanted the scenes to add up to something, as they did in Koyaanisqatsi. Nevertheless, the movie is well worth viewing for its dazzling visuals alone, and its brilliant soundtrack (possibly the best work Glass has ever done).