Once Within a Time is an intoxicating cinematic odyssey best experienced in theatres

★★★★★ | They should have sent a poet

Once Within a Time will screen at the Night Visions Back to Basics. Check out the details here.

Once Within a Time comes from the mind of Godfrey Reggio, the visionary experimental documentarian behind classics like Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqoyaqatsi. It’s a fairytale fable told entirely through sound and visuals and mood. Trifles like dialogue or traditional plotting are nowhere to be found. And that’s all for the better. Because as it stands, Once Within a Time is an intoxicating, almost hallucinatory experience that transports the viewer beyond its lightning fast runtime. It feels like watching fire flicker against a cavern wall as a storyteller paints a picture of the universe entire.

The story, as much as I can decipher, is about the world of technology and knowledge, and how the two don’t always align. From the dawn of time to the far reaches of the unknown, it depicts the rise and fall of man through hubris and exploration. We see our myths realized as truth, and our failures grow into something better as previous civilizations fall. Utilizing filmmaking methods both old and new, Reggio fuses history, legend, pop-culture, and flights of fancy to speak across generational gaps. You don’t have to recognize where the elements come from to appreciate their emotional heft.

Depending on how you watch it, Once Within a Time is either joyous or unbearably bleak. We are doomed to repeat our mistakes, but also destined to experience higher highs while doing so. Its symbolism forces us to consider the cost of our egotism as a species, just as it allows for a sense of wonder to reflect how far we’ve come. These are not contradictory emotions.

Anchored by a mesmerizing score by Phillip Glass, Once Within a Time is a vision best seen in the cinema. You need the sanctity of the darkened room and the big sound system for Reggio’s film to wash over you. Think of it as a meditation tank for the soul. A place to escape, meditate, and experience with your entire being. That is what Once Within a Time offers, and delivers in every frame.

It is only 50 minutes long, yet in under an hour it packs more beauty, complexity, and love than a dozen films twice that length. With gentle humour, it comforts and confronts. But, above all, it elevates the soul.