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''Naqoyqatsi'', also known as ''Naqoyqatsi: Life as War'', is a 2002 American
non-narrative film Non-narrative film is an aesthetic of cinematic film that does not narrate, or relate "an event, whether real or imaginary". It is usually a form of art film or experimental film, not made for mass entertainment. Narrative film is the dominant ae ...
directed by
Godfrey Reggio Godfrey Reggio (born March 29, 1940) is an American director of experimental documentary films. Life Reggio was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to an old and distinguished Louisiana family descended from Francesco M. de Reggio, an Italian noblem ...
and edited by
Jon Kane Jon Kane is a film editor, director, and DJ based in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. Career Kane was the editor of ''Naqoyqatsi'', the third film in the Qatsi Trilogy directed by Godfrey Reggio and scored by Philip Glass. Kane has also done not ...
, with music composed by
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
. It is the third and final installment in the
Qatsi trilogy alt=logo, thumb The ''Qatsi'' trilogy is the informal name given to a series of non-narrative films produced by Godfrey Reggio and scored by Philip Glass: * '' Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'' (1982) * '' Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation' ...
. is a
Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...
word (written as in Hopi orthography) meaning "life as war". In the film's closing credits, Naqoyqatsi is also translated as "civilized violence" and "a life of killing each other".


Synopsis

According to Reggio, the film has no screenplay per se, but three movements (like those of a symphony) with different themes:Rotten Tomatoes website
Reviews and long article on Naqoyqatsi, with input and quotations from Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass
# Numerica.com: Language and place gives way to numerical code and virtual reality. # Circus maximus: Competition, winning, records, fame, “fair play” and the love of money are elevated to the prime values of life. Life becomes a game. # Rocketship twentieth century: A world that language can no longer describe. The resulting explosive tempo of technology is war and civilized violence.


Production

The
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
against the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
took place very close to the film's production studio, impacting the content of the film and further convincing the crew of the importance of its subject. While ''
Koyaanisqatsi ''Koyaanisqatsi'' (), also known as ''Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'', is a 1982 American experimental film, experimental non-narrative film directed and produced by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by R ...
'' and ''
Powaqqatsi ''Powaqqatsi'', also known as ''Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation'', is a 1988 American non-narrative film directed by Godfrey Reggio and the sequel to Reggio's experimental 1982 film, ''Koyaanisqatsi''. It is the second film in the Qatsi trilo ...
'' examine modern life in industrial countries and the conflict between encroaching industrialization and traditional ways of life, using slow motion and time-lapse footage of cities and natural landscapes, about eighty percent of ''Naqoyqatsi'' uses archive footage and stock images manipulated and processed digitally on
non-linear editing Non-linear editing is a form of offline editing for audio, video, and image editing. In offline editing, the original content is not modified in the course of editing. In non-linear editing, edits are specified and modified by specialized soft ...
(non-sequential)
workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...
s and intercut with specially-produced
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
to demonstrate society's transition from a natural environment to a technology-based one. Reggio described the process as " virtual cinema".


Music

The music is more in the traditional
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
l tradition than much of Glass's work as a familiar doorway to images so disconnected from the familiar world. One instrument, the
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
played by
Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
, plays through much of the piece. Some non-orchestral instruments are used in addition to traditional ones, including a
didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
and an electronically-created jaw harp. Soundtrack.net reviewer Glenn McClanan noted that unlike the previous two films, the music is more on the softer side.


Release and reception

The film was released on DVD by Miramax on October 14, 2003.
The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
released this as part of the Qatsi trilogy on December 11, 2012.
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported that 48% out of 52 reviews were positive with the average score of 5.82/10, and the consensus saying that it is "the weakest film in Reggio's trilogy".


See also

* ''
Koyaanisqatsi ''Koyaanisqatsi'' (), also known as ''Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'', is a 1982 American experimental film, experimental non-narrative film directed and produced by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by R ...
'': Life Out of Balance (1982) * ''
Chronos Chronos (; grc-gre, Χρόνος, , "time"), also spelled Khronos or Chronus, is a personification of time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified with, the Tit ...
'' (1985) * ''
Powaqqatsi ''Powaqqatsi'', also known as ''Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation'', is a 1988 American non-narrative film directed by Godfrey Reggio and the sequel to Reggio's experimental 1982 film, ''Koyaanisqatsi''. It is the second film in the Qatsi trilo ...
'': Life in Transformation (1988) * ''
Baraka Baraka or Barakah may refer to: * Berakhah or Baraka, in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony * Barakah or Baraka, in Islam, the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres * Baraka, full ''ḥ ...
'' (1992) * '' Samsara'' (2011)


References


External links


The Trilogy's Home Page
* *
''The Qatsi Trilogy: Celebration and Warning''
an essay by Scott MacDonald at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
{{Authority control 2002 films 2000s avant-garde and experimental films 2002 documentary films American avant-garde and experimental films Films scored by Philip Glass Films without speech Films directed by Godfrey Reggio Non-narrative films Collage film American documentary films 2000s American films