Koyaanisqatsi Review

Koyaanisqatsi is an experimental film made in 1983.

The name is a Hopi word which means "Life Out of Balance". It focuses on the theme of how humans and nature have gone their seperate ways.

It features a lot of shots that are purposely prolonged so that the viewers can immediately understand the message it is trying to relay and also so that each shot is absorbed and that the transition from destruction to calmness is shown clearly.

It feature shots of a plane infront of the camera and when it exits out of the frame, another plane is brought into it, there is multiple shots such as this one. Humans themselves and everything they have produced is shown in enormous masses, one could say that it looks like a giant, chaotic and disposible mess. A lot of the scenes are there to signify how the mass production of everything man-made and unnatural is not even comparable in worth or on any aspect to natural resources that the earth produces over large spans of time.

A majority of the shots in the film are overhead shots of different locations but another notable aspect is how pretty much all shots in the film are in reverse, the film is showing us all the calamity of humans, industrial sites and productions being reversed, to show the earth healing from all the destruction, watching it come undone. Videos are shown of explosions and multiple post-apocalyptic looking locations that are barren of humans but have the lingering effects of our existence there.

Theres a shot of a cave with emerging light that insights hope within the viewers and how there might still be a chance to overcome the climate destruction we have done, For me personally it felt a little disheartening because I realized how old the film is and how the action being taken against climate change in the current century is still far from what we need if we want to continue living on the earth.

There’s a lot of shots in the film that are showing the contrast of humans and nature. Things that look similar but are not quite, steam rising from water and then the black smoke being emitted from a factory and from vehicles too. You can tell that the shots were carefully selected as the ones that show humans are almost irratating to watch, I wouldn't be so far off if i were to call us pests in comparison to the calm views of flower fields and bodies of water. There are beautiful locations shown with nature around them and then one single irratating factory, as if humans have left a giant scar on the environment. Even shots of giant buildings with a reflection of clouds that signifies what could have been seen there if it weren't for human intervention.

Theres scenes in the film with humans crawling around malls and multiple other places like game arcades and streets in the city like ants almost, with some sort of goal and aim but as the by-products of our constant advancements in technology are shown, missles that look small and harmless but cause such huge tragedies. the same question stays in your mind when the film shows the remains of the missle and comes to the conclusion with ancient writing on the wall.

As a whole the film really puts into perspective the society the we live in, how we consume all that comes into our path.

By the end of the film, my thoughts were a little scattered. As I mentioned above, the year that the film was made was stuck in my mind as a constant reminder of the lack of progress we've made in regards to climate action and gave me quite morbid thoughts. It has always been evident that nature is perfect as is and flourishes without human interference.

It made me think about how since the dawn of time, humans have always had a power struggle of some sort. In the dawn of times, we worked to become the apex predator, then as societies were formed, there began a struggle to be at the top of the society, to hold power over others, then whole countries and lands that were never theirs. All our power stuggles throughout history have led to death and a lot of destruction, humans have become desensitized to all of this, hence there is little to no remorse for all that they have caused.