INTERPRETATIONS
Qatsi trilogy: respectable project, unevenly presented
A critical essay which deals with the Qatsi trilogy
by Godfrey Reggio. With a short biographical commentary,
the author of the article extensively analyses Reggio’s films Koyaanisqatsi (1983), Powaqqatsi (1988),
and Naqoyqatsi (2002), whose titles are based on
words from Hopi Indians language, referring to its documentary,
experimental, poetic, and associative-rhythmical achievements.
Such an amalgamated approach to film lines him in the tradition
of Dziga Vertov (The Man with a Movie Camera, 1929)
and Walter Ruttmann (Berlin, Symphony of a Big City,
1927). Reggio picks up on their poetics, but adjusts it to
contemporary circumstances and technological achievements
(focussing on the actual world problems, excellent photography
on 35 mm tape) creating thematically and aesthetically stimulating
creative wholes. Although he did not manage to preserve the
continuity of artistic achievements of individual parts,
Reggio’s extremely particular and respectable trilogy, he
was shooting for almost three decades, impresses with thematic
focus on the ambivalent relationship of contemporary civilisation
and technological progress, and consistent worldview and
stylistic approach. There are few authors in contemporary
world cinema that remained faithful to their initial idea
after such a long period, and realized it with consistency.
Elvis Lenię |
