Powaqqatsi (1988)

aka Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation

Dir. Reggio's follow up to Koyaanisqatsi (1982) is another spellbinding assemblage of real life captured on film but with a focus this time on the affect of agriculture and industrialisation in third world countries.
The expert eye of the filmmaker is cast over various locations and activities, in CUs and aerial shots, while the music of Philip Glass adds deeper allusions.
The second half of the film, in which cars interrupt and obscure the focal point was obviously purposeful, but it lacks the emotional power of the first half.
Overall, though, there's a feeling that a shared experience, even one that can be described as a burden, can perhaps be a kind of dance that takes on new meaning when observed from a specific vantage point.

3½ distributions out of 5