Naqoyqatsi

It's taken Godfrey Reggio a full two decades to complete his trilogy of non-verbal films, each with a different Hopi title, intended to portray the world impressionistically from differing perspectives: Koyaanisqatsi (1983) depicted life out of balance; Powaqqatsi (1988), life in transition; and Naqoyqatsi addresses life in conflict. Like the earlier films, a succession of wordless images (often striking and sometimes eerily beautiful) accompanied by a propulsive, minimalist synthesizer score by Philip Glass, Naqoyqatsi serves up a stream-of-consciousness “vision”--shots of marching troops, military action, and half-destroyed buildings predominate--but Reggio uses the latest technical devices to manipulate the footage, giving many sequences a shimmering, ethereal quality that some will find mesmerizing. Unfortunately, visual virtuosity is about all the film has to offer; as the message about international violence is rather banal, and the overall impact thin despite the hypnotic images. Devotees of the previous installments will certainly want to see this conclusion to the trilogy, but it feels curiously dated and heavy-handed as if Reggio has gone to the same well once too often. An optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a two-minute “Life is War” making-of featurette, the seven-minute featurette “A Conversation with Philip Glass and Yo-Yo Ma,” a 54-minute “NYU Panel Discussion” with Glass, director Godfrey Reggio, editor Jon Kane, and former Arts & Leisure editor for the New York Times turned senior cultural correspondent John Rockwell, a brief soundtrack spot, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a somewhat disappointing although highly anticipated film.] (F. Swietek)