Naqoyqatsi

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Infobox film NaqoyqatsiTemplate:Efn is a 2002 American non-narrative film directed by Godfrey Reggio and edited by Jon Kane, with music composed by Philip Glass. It is the third and final installment in the Qatsi trilogy.

The title comes from the Hopi word Template:Lang meaning "life of war". In the film's closing credits, the title is also translated as "civilized violence" and "a life of killing each other".<ref name="qatsi.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

Synopsis

According to Reggio, the film has no screenplay per se, but three movements (like those of a symphony) with different themes:<ref name=rottentomatoes>Rotten Tomatoes website: Reviews and long article on Naqoyqatsi, with input and quotations from Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass</ref>

Numerica.com: Language and place gives way to numerical code and virtual reality.
Circus maximus: Competition, winning, records, fame, “fair play” and the love of money are elevated to the prime values of life. Life becomes a game.
Rocketship twentieth century: A world that language can no longer describe. The resulting explosive tempo of technology is war and civilized violence.

Production

The September 11 attacks against the World Trade Center took place very close to the film's production studio, impacting the content of the film and further convincing the crew of the importance of its subject.<ref name=rottentomatoes/>

While Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi examine modern life in industrial countries and the conflict between encroaching industrialization and traditional ways of life, using slow motion and time-lapse footage of cities and natural landscapes, about eighty percent of Naqoyqatsi uses archive footage and stock images manipulated and processed digitally on non-linear editing (non-sequential) workstations and intercut with specially-produced computer-generated imagery to demonstrate society's transition from a natural environment to a technology-based one. Reggio described the process as "virtual cinema".<ref name=rottentomatoes/>

Music

Template:Infobox album The music is more in the traditional orchestral tradition than much of Glass's work as a familiar doorway to images so disconnected from the familiar world. One instrument, the cello played by Yo-Yo Ma, plays through much of the piece. Some non-orchestral instruments are used in addition to traditional ones, including a didgeridoo and an electronically-created jaw harp.<ref name=rottentomatoes/>

Soundtrack.net reviewer Glenn McClanan noted that unlike the previous two films, the music is more on the softer side.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Track listing

Release and reception

The film was released on DVD by Miramax on October 14, 2003.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Amazon.com</ref>

The Criterion Collection released this as part of the Qatsi trilogy on December 11, 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Rotten Tomatoes reported that 48% out of 52 reviews were positive with the average score of 5.82/10, and the consensus saying that it is "the weakest film in Reggio's trilogy".<ref name="rottent">Template:Cite web</ref>