I had heard of Burning Man over the years, but never paid it much attention. As do many people, I just assumed that it was mainly a gathering of ex-hippies to get together to take drugs and have sex. This movie disabused me of that idea. I was impressed with the dedication of most participants to provide creative works of art, some of them quite stunning. I was taken with the one sculpture of a female form that was transparent and could be lighted from the inside. I think that ultimately became a public sculpture.
Another sequence detailed the creation of a large 12' metal heart that had metal scales that allowed people to enter the inside. The amount of work and skill that went into that I am thinking exemplified what went into each of the hundreds of projects. There were a lot of fun projects shown as well, like a metal-framed snail that motored around, and a large ship. Lights and sounds abound as well as every imaginable dress (or lack thereof).
This is no trivial festival. The 2012 Burning Man, filmed here, drew over 60,000 participants. Assembling that many people without total chaos, especially in an environment encouraging free expression, is a testament to the skills of the organizers and the quality of the participants. As shown, there were five people working full time throughout the year to organize this, as well as hundreds of volunteers. There were some behind the scenes frictions noted, but nothing of significance when considering the scope of this festival.
The highlight is of course the burning of the figure that the festival takes its name from. With sixty thousand people surrounding the man at night the light show, fireworks, and the ultimate burning came through as a spectacular event. The reaction must be primitive, dating to cavemen dancing around fires. I can hardly imagine how powerful the actual experience was for those who were there. Trying to understand the significance of having put such great effort into constructing the man only to burn it caused me to scratch my head a bit. I suppose it is meant to illustrate the transience of existence and all physical things. Maybe the effort to provide 60,000 people with a memorable experience is reason enough.
There are ten principles that underpin this festival. The two that I find most interesting are the ban on money and commercialization and leaving the desert in as good or better shape after the festival as it was before.
The film quality and sound of the movie are good.
I am sure that trying to capture more than a small taste of this event is impossible, but I think I got enough of a flavor of it to be able to counter anyone who might try to denigrate it.
