Koyaanisqatsi on Koyaanisqatsi

Reggio's "Koyaanisquatsie" was an intensely, moving film that was had a profound impression on me. The time lapse scenes were especially compelling to me. However, throughout the first fifteen minutes of the film, I felt rather bored. The nature scenes were nice to look at, but got old after a while. Upon reaching the scenes portraying the city, I became pumped and absorbed into the film. The music complemented the time lapse of the traffic and passing of days. Although I felt quite overwhelmed, I also was struck by the ability of Reggio to create something out of the ordinary. Normally, one would not find observing people crossing a street or cars traveling in and out of traffic to be of any interest. Through this film, on the surface level, Reggio captures the mayhem and chaos that modern life consists of. One would think that he or she would be numb to the time lapse moments of bustling pedestrians and cars, but rather, one is captivated by the sheer impact of the mayhem of modern society. Reggio has a way of allowing the viewer to see modern society in a new perspective never quite visualized in such a way. Similar to Vertov's "Man with a Movie Camera", Reggio's "Koyaanisquatsie" contains that same element of familiarity. The entirety of "Koyaanisquatsie" was a film of looking at the inside from the outside. Reggio's "Koyaanisqatsi" would have to be my second most enjoyable film after Vertov's "Man with a Movie Camera."