MIFF 2025: Samsara
Melbourne International Film Festival 2025 is ongoing and I went to watch my second session (of 12!), “Samsara”
This post my short review of the six short films in the session!
For context: I am a photographer/youtuber that wants to up my cinematography and storytelling, that’s why I’m watching 12 sessions at the film festival PLUS reviewing them here on my blog!
Alright, let’s talk about Samsara. Screen captures courtesy of miff.com.au
Unusual format (for me)
Samsara is a black and white movie. I don’t watch lots of that. And, it’s also a movie with no dialog, only music. Okay that’s also very different for me. So how does that translate to the watching experience?
The black and white scheme felt so at home with the narrative and setting. It felt like it was meant to be B&W, if it was colour it would’ve been unnatural. Lighting and composition is extra important, along with special effects, make up, costumes and so on. They couldn’t rely on colour! Or rather, colour is not part of the creative axis. Honestly, this motivated me to do more B&W photography and learn the in-and-outs of it.
The “no dialog and only music'“ was even more unusual for me. I never watched anything like that before. I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it! Again, the limitation accentuates all the other ways to communicate the narrative. The choice of shots, sequencing, facial expressions, camera angles, how long each perspective is held, and I’d imagine so many more that I can’t tell. It is the embodiment of the saying “limitation breeds creativity”
Narative
The way the narrative is told wouldn’t mean much if the narrative itself is not interesting. Well, that’s not true, there is inherent value in using a niche format — to breakout of the norm. I’d say the narrative is a classic folklore tale where you can sort of imagine things going in certain ways. Basically: main character use evil magic to get love, happy for a bit, then terrible things happens, then the resolution. It’s certainly still engaging and not boring, especially the way it’s being told.
The simple narrative might even be a necessity. Because if it’s too complex, then conveying it through B&W with no dialogue could prove to be too challenging, in a bad way.
Music
I’m not expert in music; well not really an expert in any of these, but at least I do photography. I do play musical instruments and enjoy listening to music, but not making music per se. The extent of my experience would be choosing music for my YouTube videos, which can be intricate sometimes. From that amateur-ish point of view, the music was phenomenal. I love that it is the combination of traditional Indonesian instruments (e.g. gamelan) and modern electronic EDM-like sounds. Somehow, the modern music didn’t feel out of place at all, it all worked harmoniously. And again, it was extra important to get it right, because there was no dialog! You might be able to tell that I’m in awe about this no dialog thing, sorry if you already got the point from when I mentioned it first.
Who I recommend this to?
Fans of folklore or classic Disney movies (e.g. Cinderella, Snow White, etc)
People who wants to feel how limitation can make things interesting
People who think “movies are all the same these days” — this will prove you wrong so hard
Fans of the Indonesian culture!