Timescapes is a fantastic audio-visual movie from Tow Lowe. It’s also the first movie to be sold as a 4K download file. Following very much in the footsteps of self-confessed inspiration Ron Frickie, Timescapes is a forty minute feast for the eyes.
The time-lapse photography here is stunningly crisp and clean. The twisting cameras that rotate around a familiar tree and some familiar places that we’ve visited before from Chronos and Baraka add a new dimension. Often what was seen static beforehand now feels almost psychedelic as the heightened reality of picture perfect skies against beautiful landscapes hones us in.
The notable missing element as a whole are us humans ourselves. Timescapes focuses mainly on speeding skies and slow motion waters. Occasionally people are shown but we are the slow motion to natures speeding ways and it’s an interesting and new way to have ourselves presented. There’s also some excellent music that works particularly well with the section following satellite dishes. As a whole the score is intimate and understated in a way that makes every chord and note feel part of the experience.
Timescapes, like Chronos weighs in at 40 minutes and there’s plenty of extras such as directors commentary and behind the scenes features on the blu-ray version. It is a wonderful treat and although its familiar, there’s more than enough reason for all Frickie and Qatsi fans to rush and buy this cinematic masterclass. It is simply poetry in sound and motion.
