By the end of SAMSARA I was captivated and actually having a
deep experience. I could see that the film was a piece of art. It felt like I
should have been at a museum rather than a movie theatre. It showcased how
subjective art really is because at the end all of us who saw it shared a
different experience.
People might think SAMSARA is telling a story and that there
is a message in it, and I would have to disagree. I believe the moving images
on screen are just scenes and we make them whatever we want. Just like we do in
our lives with whatever happens. The story we saw in SAMSARA is the projection
of our mind onto the images. The on-going inner voice I heard was to not judge.
I kept hearing one of my spiritual teachers saying “it is what it is” and “all
there is, is what is”. I realized I could remain neutral when there were some
creepy images, as well as when there was something beautiful.
If we really are a neutral observer to our thoughts while
watching this film, we are in for quite a treat. I saw so many of the people in
the film as unhappy. It felt like no one was smiling and everyone was taking
life so seriously. It made me think, how is this my inner experience? Is my own heart smiling right now? Could all
of humanity use more joy and upliftment?
I felt sick during the scenes of animal husbandry and mass
consumption of products. I had to close my eyes and I realized this is an area
of my life where I want and choose to remain ignorant. I had also had a
realization that I could use less paper, order out less, and recycle even more
when I watched all of the shots of the trash in our world. I also realized how
lucky and blessed I am to not only live in America but to have the job I do.
SAMSARA is a silent film. There is beautiful music that is
well scored and perfectly synched to the images but the only real soundtrack is
what is going on in our minds as we watch. This is where the reality is –
everything else is just photographs of our world on a screen. Life truly is
what we make it.
While this film is certainly enlightening in nature because
of the process your mind goes through, it was hard for me to see it as entertaining. It is beautiful, bizarre, fascinating, colorful, and eye-opening. If
we pay attention, especially to certain images, we can see the truth of “as
above, so below” and the inter-connectedness of all things.
My favorite part is the creation of the sand mandala towards
the beginning and the teaching of non-attachment that it circles back to at the
end. This is one of the main messages I took from the film: to be non-attached
to our thoughts as they come and go.
If you have any desire to really travel the world, this is
the film for you. Just expect an amazing instillation at a modern art museum
and not an educational National Geographic program. Be mindful of your thoughts
and I promise you that you’ll learn something new about how you relate to the
world. Certainly that is worth the price of a movie ticket, is it not?!
Entertain-Enlighten-Inspire,
Kate Neligan - Founder/CEO of Synergy TV
P.S. Big THANK YOU to the University of Santa Monica for inviting me to see this film and to Mark Magidson and Ron Fricke for making a stunning masterpiece.
Well said. I learned a lot about attachment through this film, especially around the art of the Mandala. Beautiful images (most of them) and soothing score.
ReplyDeleteWow, Kate, awesome review. I agree with your experience and was inspired to visit some of the places that were featured, most especially to experience the local traditions. There was a lot of close-ups on the eyes of humans in this film, but I missed close-ups on the eyes of animals. I heard the filmmakers underscore that the message is really about the impermanence of life, thereby encouraging us all to embrace non-attachment, since the very nature of life is always changing.
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