REVIEWS

RON FRICKE, IN HIS LATEST OFFERING, SAMSARA, SPEAKS TO

Moving in circles THE VIEWER THROUGH HIS GRAPHICALLY INTENSE IMAGERY AND
WEAVES A TELLING STORY WITHOUT WORDS.

Director Ron Fricke and writer Mark Magidson reunite after
a decade to bring their wordless camera flair to screen; this
time to depict the concept of life, death and rebirth called
Samsara. Given the absence of a plot or words, there can
be as many interpretations of the film as there are viewers.
But that does not take away from the fact that it is an
amalgamation of stunning visuals much like its decade-old
predecessor, Baraka.
The opening scene starts with three doll-like
Javanese girls doing a traditional dance. Their gaze
at the camera pierces straight to your heart. This is
subsequently followed by an almost never-ending visual
of volcanic eruptions. It is difficult to keep pace with
Frickes visual narrative, but you learn to, with every
arresting frame. From the awe-inspiring serenity of the
sleeping dead to the Buddhist monastery, you give up
your quest to know where these places might be and
just agree to flow with the images. The birds-eye view
of the heavenly temples of Angkor Wat appear like a
mystic land never invaded by mankind. The beautiful sand
painting being meticulously created by monks in a Buddhist
monastery with innocent little students peering over, does
make you wish to never leave this place.
After 30 minutes of elegant visuals, however, you are
brought unprepared into visuals of the mundane urban
existence we have today. Towering high-rises and ugly
human settlement replace the serenity of nature. That is
when you realise that the beautifully created fountains of
Dubai Mall are nowhere close to natures majestic Epupa
Falls.
In the end, Fricke tries to unite the viewer with the
solitude in nature experienced at the beginning of the
movie only replacing it with religion. People circling the wall
of Kaaba in Mecca resemble the million stars of a galaxy
surrounding its black hole. While Samsara might resemble
a painting to most viewers, it also happens to be a mirror
wherein we can see the reflection of our own evolution.
- SUMERU SALLA

AMIDST A HOST OF INNOVATION BOOKS THAT CONCENTRATE

ON THE HOW TOS, HOW STELLA SAVED THE FARM USES A
REFRESHING ALLEGORICAL NARRATIVE TO BRING FORTH
The innovative sheep INNOVATION LESSONS.

Innovation is business worlds latest pin-up idol. In fact,
if you type the words innovation books in Google,
chances are you may get around 4,69,000,000 results.
So what makes How Stella Saved the Farm different?
Simplethe book is a parable.
Deirdre, the new CEO of Windsor Farm (an animal-
run farm), discovers that her farm is in trouble. Despite
being, faster, stronger and more efficient, the farm
was barely managing to stay afloat. Pushed to a
cornerbankruptcy or a takeovershe realises that
innovation is the only way out.
The authors of How Stella Saved the FarmVijay
Govindarajan and Chris Trimblegive us eight simple
but essential lessons on innovation through Deirdres
journey. Each time she falters or stumbleswhether
it is winning the trust of her second in command,
allocating resources, choosing a team to work on the
innovation project or standing steadfast in the face of
not so promising resultswe empathise with her. We
learn from her mistakes, cheer and take heart from her
victories.
Through the eyes of each of the characters living on
the farm such as Bull, the COO; Stella, the sheep who
comes up with the innovative idea; Mav, the stallion
in charge of the innovation experiment; and Einstein,
the cock who is the resident scientistthe authors
bust some of the greatest myths of innovation without
resorting to heavy jargon and fancy graphs and charts.
To my mind, one of the most important lessons that
this parable brings home is this: Evaluate innovation
leaders based on whether they executed a disciplined
experiment and not on results, ROI or profits. Results
will happen. In a country where failure is still taboo,
such an outlook will encourage more managers to take
the path of innovation. And miracles will happen
in time.
- POORNIMA SUBRAMANIAN
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