The film is showing human participation in the divine: the interaction between man and the mystical elements that surround him. Terrence Malick's later works (The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life, To the Wonder) all seem to have been seeded in this documentary: many of the shots -- the way they are framed -- can be found in these latter works of Malick (along with the same spiritual themes and motifs -- water, majestic expanses, prayer, nature, creation, life). The film's use of natural light and wide lenses is also evident in Malick's work (and it could be argued that so too is the lack of traditional narrative) -- so this film is very Malickian -- or rather Malick's films may be said to be very Frickian.
Overall, the film's uninterrupted exploration of human beings in all parts of the world -- and its exploration of the world itself -- is a welcome experience and one that can be had over and over again because of…
In fact, he identified himself entirely with it, even in his own self-reflection. In the reflective poem "leroy," published in 1969 under his newly adopted name Amiri Baraka, a nostalgic comment on his mother becomes a lofty vision of himself as the bearer of black wisdom -- that "strong nigger feeling" (5) -- from his ancestors forward to the next generation. He refers to this legacy that he is