The 2011 documentary Samsara is newly available on Netflix Instant and since you’ve probably already worked your way through Orange Is the New Black, you probably need something to watch.
Here’s what Colin Boyd said about the film upon its release, even though Netflix loses something on IMAX front:
Rarely has a film come along that looks this good. Shot in glorious 70-millimeter, Samsara plays to its strength by presenting many things that can only be truly appreciated on such a grand scale. By and large, it’s IMAX-quality stuff. (The IMAX science movies, that is, not the cheap up-converted Hollywood flicks.) Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson don’t have a story to tell so much as an experience to share. They traveled to 25 countries over a five-year span to capture remarkable visuals, and it’s certainly a captivating show. They do not editorialize regarding the subjects they shoot, nor do they reach for a larger point of connectedness—except for the one that dawns on you as you watch: We’ve got a remarkable planet, and here’s a pretty good atlas for it.
This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2013.
I would also recommend a film by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson titled _Baraka_. And, of course, I can’t resist mentioning the fantastic “Qatsi” trilogy produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by Godfrey Reggio, with Ron Fricke as director of photography, and the marvelous sound track created by Philip Glass.