65
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The PlaylistKatie WalshThe PlaylistKatie WalshSimply put, Samsara tells the story of our world, but onscreen, it is so much more than that.
- 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.
- 80The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottA 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).
- 80SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirIt 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.
- 75Slant MagazineSlant MagazineRon Fricke's film is a brightly hued bauble, fit for rapturous contemplation.
- The drawbacks to this often rhapsodically beautiful film lie not in the journey itself, but in the preachy detours taken along the way.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe images wash over you - lush, gorgeous, impeccably framed - just as they did in Ron Fricke's wordless meditation "Baraka" (1992).
- 60Total FilmTotal FilmJaw-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.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanOddly, there isn't as much originality as you'd expect from a global search for meaning.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe film's imagery is epic and trance-inducing. It's the "guided" part where Samsara stumbles.