Dogora comes with a heavy nod to some very thoughtful ancestors, particularly the Qatsi trilogy and Baraka. That said it has reason to claim uniqueness as unlike the others, the music is not purely separated from the visuals. What you see will at least be partially accompanied by background sounds.
There are some scenes that also differentiate Dogora's message from the aforementioned, such as a scene of Cambodian dancers, intermixed with clips of kickboxing. Admittedly, this is a bit clichéd and grasping for symbols of a very complex country, but the footage in this case remains indistinct enough to be interesting.
Other times it feels not unlike a home video of a tourist who just won't put the camera down even when the subject is uncomfortable, unlike the ambiguity of scenes in the Qatsi trilogy where the subject remains unaware, indifferent, or amused. The far-too-long segment of the girl with a hat, about halfway through, elicits a feeling of voyeuristic discomfort rather than curiosity. The photography seems to struggle with awareness of this, electing for short cuts, or blurry shots at distance, which detract from the potency.
I also can't help but think it would have been better entirely with natural sounds of the recordings. The unfortunate part is that any sensation Dogora brings is tainted by the orchestral accompaniment, which bears not even the slightest acoustic relation to Cambodia, and often no musical relation to what you're watching. Crescendos arise without any visual connection. The scene at the end, of the choir singing, has no relation to the rest of the film, except to confirm that this movie is more about matching exotic imagery to a mediocre musical composition than expressing anything nuanced about Cambodia.
Bit of a let down overall, especially considering that I don't doubt there are backpacker videos that express more than this video.
There are some scenes that also differentiate Dogora's message from the aforementioned, such as a scene of Cambodian dancers, intermixed with clips of kickboxing. Admittedly, this is a bit clichéd and grasping for symbols of a very complex country, but the footage in this case remains indistinct enough to be interesting.
Other times it feels not unlike a home video of a tourist who just won't put the camera down even when the subject is uncomfortable, unlike the ambiguity of scenes in the Qatsi trilogy where the subject remains unaware, indifferent, or amused. The far-too-long segment of the girl with a hat, about halfway through, elicits a feeling of voyeuristic discomfort rather than curiosity. The photography seems to struggle with awareness of this, electing for short cuts, or blurry shots at distance, which detract from the potency.
I also can't help but think it would have been better entirely with natural sounds of the recordings. The unfortunate part is that any sensation Dogora brings is tainted by the orchestral accompaniment, which bears not even the slightest acoustic relation to Cambodia, and often no musical relation to what you're watching. Crescendos arise without any visual connection. The scene at the end, of the choir singing, has no relation to the rest of the film, except to confirm that this movie is more about matching exotic imagery to a mediocre musical composition than expressing anything nuanced about Cambodia.
Bit of a let down overall, especially considering that I don't doubt there are backpacker videos that express more than this video.