Powaqqatsi: Impact of Progress

(DVD version). Interesting documentary. It focuses mostly on how hard it is to make a living in poorer countries. 90 minutes of great images, there is no dialog, just music (Phillip Glass), but the cinematography says it all (I wish they had put a little sign here and there to identify the country). While the living conditions are really bad it also shows how we, in the developed world, have lost contact with nature and live in artificial environments and high apartment buildings next to each other. It is interesting to see how difficult it is for poorer people to get a fraction of the things that we take for granted, like running water, clean food, decent transportation, etc.

Let me start out by saying I didn't think "Powaaqatsi" was anywhere near as good as "Koyaanisqatsi". The message was nothing new and both the visuals and music were far, far below the standards of the first film. With that said, the last thing I needed to hear was Mr. Glass and Mr. Reggio endlessly ramble on about what a masterpiece they created.

The short running time of "Impact Of Progress" is mostly spent as follows: Philip talks about how great Godfrey is. Godfrey talks about how great Philip is. Philip talks about how great Philip is. Godfrey talks about how great Godfrey is. I can't stand these self-congratulatory mini-docs that have the sole purpose of inflating egos.

Only watch this if you want to see a couple of snobs throw around words such as "autodidactic" and "recontextualizing" to show how clearly superior they are. Good luck.