One Paragraph Movie Review: Koyaanisqatsi

Two hundred and ninety-fourth film: Koyaanisqatsi, the 1982 ‘visual poem’ movie that you stare at rather than watch. A very beautifully shot collection of juxtaposed footage of nature, technology, people, and things blowing up with zero narration or dialogue, you make up your own mind as a viewer whether you construct meaning out of the sequence of images or just let them wash over you with an Owen-Wilson-esque “wooow”. It’s pretty clear from the title, Hopi for “life in turmoil” or “life out of balance”, that we’re probably supposed to think “nature good, humans bad”. It’s also pretty easy to just read “things are things” from it and get on with your life. Admittedly in 2023 we’re a lot more aware of our impact on the environment than we were in 1982 so there’s less need for heavy-handed gorgeous symbolism, but this thing is still extremely gorgeous. It’s like meditation with explosions mixed in. Yep. Four sped-up crowded escalators out of five.