WORDLESS MOVIE--Powaqqatsi

Powaqqatsi, Hopi for "life in transformation," is a film without words or dialogue. One movie in a series called the Qatsi trilogy, Powaqqatsi examines the interface of culture and technology. Writer/Director Godfrey Reggio focuses specifically on ancient cultures, such as those in Egypt, Africa, China, and India, juxtaposing images of traditional ways of living up against urban "techno" lifestyles. Most of the rural, the so-called "primitive" segments, are filmed in slow motion, accentuating the sense of timelessness, of an unrushed existence. We, as viewers, walk and stomp and fish in the same unhurried and deliberate movements of the human and animal population. Life is lived by the hand, manually, City life, on the other hand, is filmed mostly in fast motion. Often times, viewers are fooled by this technique since the normal pace of machines and vehicles is supra-quick. Bodies, in these parts of the film, sweep across the screen; they look frenetic, ill-at-ease. Shock editing of neon-lit streets, urban crowds, and advertising models adds to the distraught nature of these scenes. Phillip Glass' phenomenal musical soundtrack adds to the director's intent of haunting rhythms and harried cadences throughout the film. Even these two unique elements do not affect the movie's final impact as much as the fact that language in the form of words is not present in the 97 minutes of footage. Such a bold and clever technique serves to magnify that which lingers in the shadows—namely, the "old world," the world before "plug-ins." Especially suited for high school and college students, because of its length and subject matter, Powaqqatsi could also be shown to middle-school English/Language Arts students in shorter segments, with greater detail given to a classroom lesson's purpose and objective. By Natosi, high school/college English instructor
Reggio, Godfrey, writer/director. Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation. 1988, 97 minutes.