Conclusion: Samsara, Slow Cinema, and the Perceptions of Rhythm Induced by Music in Cinema - Text 1
Samsara and Slow Cinema
The observation of an increasingly dense cinematic rhythm beginning in the 1960s, and even more so from the 1980s onward, appears to concern the majority of contemporary cinematic and audiovisual norms. Redefining this notion by drawing upon the biological approach and the concept of “continuity editing,” as well as the various theories and applications of rhythm in cinema from its earliest years to the present day, is essential for understanding cinema’s transformation into its contemporary form and for enabling us to grasp the many exceptional cases and “countercurrent” developments. Thus, while the acceleration of rhythm through editing is readily perceptible within the contemporary norm, what of those productions that exist at its margins?
At the opposite end of the music video aesthetic symbolized by MTV in the 1980s, certain filmmakers instead turned toward what has come to be known as Slow Cinema, a cinematic movement stemming from the cultural engagement of the Slow Movement that emerged in Italy in the 1990s.[1] The analysis of a work such as Samsara (2023), whose director Lois Patiño explicitly aligns himself with this approach, highlights this slow and meditative rhythm conceived in reaction to the lively and kinesthetic rhythm that predominates today. Indeed, films of this kind are often characterized by a more minimalist form of narration, granting greater importance to contemplation and moments of suspension.[2] From the earliest stages of the project’s conception, the director of Samsara was therefore interested in the notion of spectator reception, particularly because of the choice of this slow rhythm, at times difficult to grasp, sustained across nearly two hours of screen time.