Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

andrei-kivu First let's state clearly that this is not a movie, neither a documentary. It's photography barely moving. I cannot give a not passing grade to this movie because it IS beautiful. However, it greatly lacks is pace and variation and many other aspects. The opening scene will leave you breathless with your eyes wide open, unfortunately it doesn’t change much throughout the movie. The narrator states emphatically at the beginning of the movie "if you follow me" meaning if you watch this movie "your seconds will become hours, your hours will become days". Well, I can't say he didn't speak the truth: the hour I spent watching this movie did feel a little like a day. The chocolaty sepia is at times beautiful, at times boring. I couldn't help thinking all throughout the movie how they tortured the poor beasts to get the admittedly beautiful imagery. To make the redundancy complete, some scenes are played more than once. The narrated text is some seemingly deeply meaningful mambo-jambo, spliced with corniness and unbearable pretentiousness. A sample of this corniness would be when the narrator says something like "at the beginning of time the sky was full of flying elephants and now they sleep in the sky with one eyed open to keep watch over us and the stars we see are their eyes" - come on! If you saw the episode in Southpark where some kids make a show called "Close-Up Animals with a Wide Angle Lens Wearing Hats", then this movie could easily be called "sepia images in slow motion of people barely clothed dancing around with elephants and other wild beasts, on Buddha-bar-like music".

NYCman75 I wasn't sure what to expect, but was so very pleased with the film and the message. I just recently saw Ashes and Snow, even though Colbert's work is popular and well known in Manhattan (where I live). The images of animals and humans was both startling and soothing. I was moved by the message of equality and hope that Colbert's meaning isn't lost on others, especially now in this time of Hope and Change. It's an interesting movie and one that will inspire western civilizations to look within them to try and make a more positive impact and connection with the natural world. Take a chance and check out this film: I hope that it'll have the same positive, reflective effect on your life as it did on my own.

sweetpeariri As a huge animal lover and animal rights activist, I was mesmerized by Gregory Colbert's work in Ashes and Snow. I first saw the exhibit in New York, where I live. I have since then traveled to see it in both Santa Monica and Mexico City. As I await it's next stop, I return to Mr. Colbert's vision through his film, Ashes and Snow.He is a true visionary and prophet to the animal community. Every time I watch the film, my heart fills with joy and pride at the world that Gregory Colbert has captured in which animals and human coexist as partners and equals.I would recommend Ashes and Snow to anyone with a dream in which all of the world's species live in perfect harmony.

ed2oh9 I went to the opening of the Ashes & Snow exhibit when it arrived in Santa Monica, Ca. As the Nomadic Museum was being assembled (basically large cargo containers stacked upon one another), my friends and I thought it was going to be some sort of Cirgue De Soleil spin off, since that's what had been set up in the same spot the years before. We couldn't have been more wrong.Just before the show opened, someone told me about the website (ashesandsnow.com). I was amazed by what I saw and couldn't wait for the show's opening. When the day finally came, I was mesmerized by each image as it hung in the immense gallery, which I think was designed to give you the sense of walking among elephants. Some of the images are so bold though, with the interaction between man and animal, that you start to believe that they were digitally manipulated. Then I walked into the center section of the gallery and saw the film. It was just as awe inspiring as the images and left no doubt that each image was captured as it the scenes were choreographed.Being a photographer myself, I can say that the exposures, the compositions, the cinematography, the moods created, the toning, etc, were all absolutely perfect. I've been shooting for years and know how difficult it is to get EVERYTHING to work in coordination to create a memorable image. It's hard enough to get it all to work together in a controlled environment, but Gregory Colbert shot the majority of the images with animals. On top of that, he shot underwater, with whales, elephants and manatees, creating some of the most unique images I've ever seen.Beyond the technical aspect of the film though is the incredible harmony that you see between man and animal. For one reader to suggest that the animals were "in distress" is absolutely ludicrous. You don't see that here. You also don't see animals that resemble circus creatures that have been beaten into submission. Instead, what you see is humans that live in peace with the animals from their native land. You see an incredible respect for the animals and a gentleness that put the animals at ease. It's a thing of beauty.Deeper still is the message behind the film and the images. Both Laurence Fishburne and Ken Wantanabbe have the perfect voice to narrate Colbert's story of a man who left all that he knew, in order to find himself in distant lands. The revelations that he discovers along the way are what we get to see in the images that were produced. Watch the film, listen to the words, and then watch the film again, and again, and again. In it, you'll see a man's dreams, visions, heart break and redemption. You'll see the journey he took and the worlds that he saw, not only on the outside, but inwardly as well. You'll hear his message of love and see that ultimately, the film is not about animals at all...but instead about us.It is a masterpiece, and it is an experience.