From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Powaqqatsi
original film poster
Directed by	Godfrey Reggio
Produced by	Francis Ford Coppola George Lucas Godfrey Reggio et al.
Written by	Godfrey Reggio Ken Richards
Music by	Philip Glass
Cinematography	Graham Berry Leonidas Zourdoumis
Editing by	Iris Cahn Miroslav Janek Alton Walpole
Distributed by	Cannon Films (USA)
Release date(s)	April 29, 1988
Running time	99 minutes
Language	English, Hopi
Preceded by	Koyaanisqatsi
Followed by	Naqoyqatsi
IMDb profile

Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation is the 1988 sequel to the experimental 1983 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi, by Godfrey Reggio. It is the second film in the Qatsi trilogy.

Powaqqatsi is a Hopi word meaning "parasitic way of life" or "life in transition". While Koyaanisqatsi focused on modern life in industrial countries, Powaqqatsi, which similarly has no dialogue, focuses more on the conflict in third world countries between traditional ways of life and the new ways of life introduced with industrialization.

As with Koyaanisqatsi and the third and final part of the 'Qatsi' trilogy, Naqoyqatsi, the film is strongly related to its soundtrack, written by Philip Glass. Here, human voices (especially children's and mainly from South America and Africa) appear more than in Koyaanisqatsi, in harmony with the film's message and images.

In the beginning chapter, "Serra Pleada", men from Serra Pleada are seen carrying bags of dirt up to a destination. Some men are resting while others are feeling pressure. In the middle of the chapter, various shots outside of Serra Pleada are shown. A couple are from Anima Mundi. Near the end of the chapter, a few men are carrying another man who got hit by a falling rock(mentioned in the "Impact of progress" feature on the DVD) all the way to where the guys carrying the bags of dirt are going. After that, many faded layers of the dirt carriers are shown. Most of which are faded. The scene cross fades into a head with three layers. All of which are faded. Two are spinning in the opposite direction, after that, the title is shown.

In Anthem: Part 1, The sun rise up above an African village. One of the most popular scenes in this chapter is one of a man raising a sail for a boat. Then there's a scene where the sail is completely up, showing off all its beauty.

The next chapter, That Place starts zooming out from a waterfall. Kids can be heard laughing. Villages are shown as well as kids and upside down water reflections.

• A part of the movie's haunting musical score, "Anthem Part 2", was used in the 1998 film The Truman Show.

• The trilogy's home page
• Powaqqatsi at the Internet Movie Database
• Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and the Triumph of Substance (Interview with Godfrey Reggio from the L.A. Weekly) by Michael Dare