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Naqoyqatsi

Naqoyqatsi

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1 review

Third in the documentary series presenting jaw-dropping scenes from around the world, this one on technology, machinery and virtual reality.

CertificatePG

Duration86 mins

Review by

  • Neil, 16
  • 102 reviews

Review by Neil, 16

2 stars

28 Sep 2011

Naqo… Naqa Natqua… Nat… Nata… Natitia sorry I can‘t pronounce the name , I never write anything I can‘t pronounce (though I have worked out to pronounce brackets and full stops, not the words but the symbols so I can say . *£) and if you want I’ll show you how to say, you say full stop as… full stop if you honestly thought I could pronounce symbols as well as words then get your head checked) so we’ll be pretentious and call it, the, Film. The Film is apparently the third in Godfrey Reggio’s trilogy of equally unpronounceably named Films. Now here’s da thang ma homies n za hood, the Film passes itself off as a documentary which is a 1. Consisting of, concerning, or based on documents. 2. Presenting facts objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film. n. pl. doc·u·men·ta·ries A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration. Which implies a lack of tampering, and if so then to further an educational point. The Film does not have a point since behind its veil of prentiousness is a lack of any driving point or need for the whacky colouring. Sure there’s some stuff about warfare and its tendency to repeat itself (violent riots followed by footage of Great War battles) and the modern world but the rest is nonsense in bad sense (useless in general e.g. 49% of David Lynch‘s body of work) as opposed to the good sense (has an abstract meaning behind the madness e.g. 52% of David Lynch‘s work) and becomes annoying after a while. In fact it would have been better as a 20 minute youtube video (think Un Chien Andalou, though if you really think like that film then get your head checked). But in all honesty the whole anti-war thing has been pretty lacking in meaning since the USSR fell and think of the only pacifist to get control of a major government namely Neville Chamberlain (please read up on your history of WWII if your stupid) so the general argument is somewhat discredited, but the main problem is that not only does The Film say to much to drive home at one point but it doesn’t say anything really, it just shows. That’s ok in a proper documentary but here there needs to be an edge or message rather than a director showing how much he loves playing about with the colours on his computer and how good some guy is at a cello (which was the only truly good part of it and even that got repetitive). Its just a audio-visual sledgehammer that never gets swung at the same point enough to break the wall and be meaningful. “Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” could be easily applied to this situation.

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