Tim Kidner I'm not trying to undersell Powaqqatsi (meaning 'parasite' in the Hopi language) but to emphasise the quality of the steady stream of images that unfold on us - and their subject matter.Often of people doing things in third world countries and often in very slo-mo, always very colourful and beautifully and perfectly composed, this is a feast for the eyes - and the ears. Equally good is Philip Glass' excellent, haunting and eclectic score, that obviously wasn't just tacked on afterwards.The film's intention is to highlight the way man has and is encroaching on nature - hence the title and its translation. Executive produced by mega directors of the period, Francis Ford Copolla and George Lucas, you can see that this was meant to hit big and hard. It could be argued, however, that the images don't go far enough - a certificate U means that the film is universally pretty and inoffensive, but what man has done to this planet isn't and a bolder approach would hit home harder and make its message clearer.I still prefer Koyaanisqatsi (PC's spell-checker going mental!) to this as that veers more to slightly more exciting imagery.

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).

nitratestock35 As mentioned earlier by others, this film is basically a weakerversion of Baraka (by Koyaanisqatsi cinematographer Ron Fricke),a film very much like Powaqqatsi, focussing some more on thereligious rituals of southern hemisphere cultures.Powaqqatsi definitely is a disappointment as a follow up ofKoyaanisqatsi. There is no consistence of any kind. Some scenesare going on for way too long (the gold mine sequence in the SerraPelada, Brazil is nice but becomes tiresome already before themain title). Other sequences are uneven and cluttered and wedon't know where we are. The movie is almost entirely overcranked (in slow motion), asopposed to the perfect combination of time lapse (much of it withmotion blur to make it smoother plus smooth camera panning),slow motion and the use of stock footage in Koyaanisqatsi whichhad a wonderful atmosphere to it and works on many levels. Powaqqatsi is supposed to make no statement about how thingsshould be - according to director Godfrey Reggio. Why then thesequence editing US American tv commercials and militaryimages (is this evidence of how Reggio felt about Powaq. notcoming close to Koyaanis. in meaning)? Powaq.'s photography is of great quality, yet many motifs aresimply not interesting enough to be on screen for that long. I havethe feeling that the team simply didn't come home with enoughinteresting footage in the can and had to make something out ofwhat they had in the editing room. The few great shots which letsus emerge in unfamiliar worlds don't make up for the higherpercentage of footage of no interest whatsoever.Check Ron Fricke's "Baraka" to see what Powaqqatsi could havebeen and should have been. I also agree about some comments regarding Philip Glass' score.It is sometimes is flat out corny and sounds very much like whatone might expect in a late 1980s "we are all one world" beer orcookie commercial. Philip Glass is a great and original composer for symphonicminimalism, but as a composer of world music he hasn't got thevein. The Powaq. score is several notches below the magic ofwhat he did for Koyaanis. Again: Baraka has a better score as well.Watch Powaqqatsi to ifill yourself in on the second installment ofthe ..qatsi trilogy. It's not a bad film, but IMHO Godfrey Reggio wasunable to deliver the footage for this concept. Ron Fricke did it in"Baraka".

taiwanjeff2002 This movie is a wonderful follow-up to Koyaanisqatsi.Once again, Godfrey Reggio brings the beauty of life on screen. This movie is about humans, how they live, how to work, how they are. It is a mirror of our current position and where we are heading.With the visual mood set perfectly, the powerful soundtrack of Philip Glass takes you away and makes you live a journey across Earth.This film will help you disconnect of your worries and help you concentrate on your life. It will help you see how other humans are living on this planet and how we should not take what we have for granted.Startup this movie and let your brain lead you on a fantastic trip.