59
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanFilmmaking at its purest and most visceral – a tale full of sound and visual fury, signifying, if not exactly nothing, then something not so readily articulated in words.
- 75Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaThere are extraordinary collisions of image and music here that make for some breathtaking sequences, but when that portentous, Gregorian-chanting chorus kicks in with its repetitive mantra of the film's title, it sure sounds a whole lot like they're saying "narcolepsy," not "naqoyqatsi."
- 75New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsImages wash over you like wind-blown rain, fierce and beautiful at the same time, largely shaped into themes by the haunting music of Philip Glass, who is here joined by cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoWho needs mind-bending drugs when they can see this.
- Much of this is involving, although the pace is so relentless that it leaves little time to breathe or grasp precisely what Reggio is attempting to say.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanIf Microsoft and Nike ever merged into one corporate megalith (MicroNike?) and commissioned Leni Riefenstahl to direct its visionary new Super Bowl commercial, the result might look something like Godfrey Reggio's Naqoyqatsi.
- 63Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisA movie that seems to have been made mostly on the hard drive of a Power Mac G4. But whatever, we get it: Technology destroys everything.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenBy far the grimmest of these nonnarrative, nonverbal cinematic tone poems with epic ambitions. Although none of the three could be described as cheery, Naqoyqatsi, whose title is the Hopi Indian term for war as a way of life, reeks of doomsday.
- 58Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldIt would be very possible for a reasonably intelligent person to sit through its tidal wave of imagery and not get this vision at all.
- 40Film ThreatPhil HallFilm ThreatPhil HallSadly, Naqoyqatsi quickly degenerates into a monotonous skein of banal images which strangely reinforces the message that we're living in a damn dull society.