Samsara
Oscilloscope Pictures | Release Date: August 24, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsSep 7, 2012
With a title taken from an American Indian word for "life out of balance," Godfrey Reggio's wordless documentary lured dreamers into the sacred cave of cinema, where they ingested the serial music of Philip Glass and the time-lapse imagery of cinematographer Ron Fricke. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertSep 5, 2012
It is the kind of experience you simply sink into. Read full review
100
The PlaylistKatie WalshAug 22, 2012
Simply put, Samsara tells the story of our world, but onscreen, it is so much more than that. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn LevySep 6, 2012
The word 'samsara' means 'continuous flow of life' in Tibetan, and Fricke and company surely experienced that sensation in making the film, which took them to 25 countries in a span of five years. Read full review
80
The GuardianPhelim O'NeillSep 1, 2012
It may be just more of the same from Fricke, but with his unique process, another incredible-looking lap around the world is more than welcome. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirAug 25, 2012
It demands to be experienced on its own terms or not at all, which creates a significant level of resistance in the contemporary media marketplace – but may also be a source of counterintuitive appeal. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottAug 23, 2012
A spool of arresting, beautifully composed shots without narration or dialogue, Samsara is an invitation to watch closely and to suspend interpretation (another notion Sontag might have approved). Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazineDavid EhrlichAug 21, 2012
A darker and more ambitious meditation on impermanence, Samsara relies on blunt force and unforgettable imagery, overcoming the hazy logic of Fricke's editing to earn your awe. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezSep 21, 2012
Achingly beautiful and visually transfixing, Samsara offers a transporting vacation from the usual multiplex fare. It's a movie to get lost in. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 6, 2012
Samsara is gorgeous. And sometimes, depending on expectations, looks are enough. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerAug 31, 2012
What does it all mean? I'm not convinced that Fricke's movies are much more than exalted travelogues, but you certainly feel as if you've been somewhere after you've seen one of them. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineBudd WilkinsAug 21, 2012
Ron Fricke's film is a brightly hued bauble, fit for rapturous contemplation. Read full review
63
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 23, 2012
The drawbacks to this often rhapsodically beautiful film lie not in the journey itself, but in the preachy detours taken along the way. Read full review
60
EmpireGuy LodgeAug 27, 2012
A semi-sequel to the acclaimed "Baraka," Fricke delivers another stunning spectacle in 70mm, interspersed with some tiresome sermonising. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAug 23, 2012
Oddly, there isn't as much originality as you'd expect from a global search for meaning. Read full review
60
Total FilmSam WigleyAug 21, 2012
Jaw-dropping in colour and splendour, but if the constant awe gets a bit tiring, at its best you can genuinely feel some great wheel turning. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfAug 21, 2012
The images wash over you - lush, gorgeous, impeccably framed - just as they did in Ron Fricke's wordless meditation "Baraka" (1992). Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSep 8, 2012
The film is implicitly advocating a New Age or holistic perspective, with a dollop of Eastern religion added for good measure. (The title is Sanskrit meaning "wheel of life.") Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonAug 31, 2012
It's a purely sensory journey until the pictures start making editorial comments, in slaughterhouses and garbage dumps. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranAug 30, 2012
Samsara is as frustrating as it is beautiful, which is saying a lot because this is a film laced with exquisite images. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMark HolcombAug 21, 2012
The film's imagery is epic and trance-inducing. It's the "guided" part where Samsara stumbles. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaSep 13, 2012
The film winds up being a collection of striking visuals without any emotional heft. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenSep 13, 2012
It seems to me that since "Koyaanisqatsi" in 1982, for which Fricke served as the director of photography, every other film of this sort has been repetition. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeMark FeeneySep 6, 2012
The result is like an issue of National Geographic gone mad. Read full review
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