Heal-Ing Begins At Magic Latern

If there’s one thing that you can associate with HEAL, the Hanford Education Action League, it’s concern for the environment.

And while environmental consciousness may not have been the foremost intent of filmmaker Ron Fricke, his 1992 film “Baraka” is nevertheless a visually powerful study of how the world works - or, in some cases, how it doesn’t work.

Those of you who haven’t yet seen “Baraka” will have a chance to do so at 7 tonight at the Magic Lantern Cinemas.

Tonight’s showing, which kicks off a weeklong special run, is a charity benefit for HEAL, a watchdog group that monitors the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Admission (available at the door) amounts to a sliding-scale donation, based on ability to pay, which ranges from $6 to $20. Fricke, who photographed the similar cinematic meditation “Koyaanisqatsi,” not only directed “Baraka” (which is Sufi for “breath of life”) but filmed and wrote this melding of cinema and sound that features no dialogue.

While less Philip Glass than Kitaro, that doesn’t lessen the impact of seeing the cultures and geographical riches of 24 different countries. Those riches - from Australia’s Ayers Rock to Arizona’s Grand Canyon - end up being riveting to watch.

, DataTimes