A Movie Without Words

Last night our couples book club elected to watch a movie instead of reading a book. This had a negative consequence in that we forgot entirely about the meeting until 15 minutes after it started since there was no book to serve as a reminder.

We watched Koyaanisqatsi, a film directed by Godfrey Reggio with music by Philip Glass. This movie was definitely unique because it told a 90-minute story without using a single spoken word. The title is a Hopi word meaning “life out of balance.” The premise of the film is the collision of nature with the industrial world. It uses speeded up and slowed down photography that depicts powerful waves, swirling desert sand, demolition of housing projects, atomic bomb explosions, freeway scenes, and production lines. The juxtaposition of such images evokes a cry to save our poor world and return it to its natural state.

Here is a link to provide more information about this movie that is like none other:

http://www.philipglass.com/koyaanisqatsi.html

Next month we are back to reading a book once again. It was nice to take a diversion this month. It was a reminder that a story can be told in so many ways, even without the use of words.