Koyaannisqatsi

I first saw and heard  Koyaannisqatsi on a bad quality VHS tape on a video player borrowed from the social work centre where I worked. It was stunning then, and through the years I watched it again on a DVD - took Thomas and Jacob to see it at the cinema one afternoon when they were six and nine (that was amazing), then a couple of years ago(?) Tom and I saw Philip Glass and the Ensemble perform it live in the Brighton Dome. Now I listen to it more than see it as all the images are in my head anyway. One sticks though. Always when I watch it  I try to make myself  pay attention to each person that appears (it's a bit manic in the crowd scenes, so I often try to see people I haven't seen before). But I have my favourites - and the best is this - the hot lazy beach, a woman sleeping in the sun on a towel with her child sleeping beside her, then the camara pans out and up the beach to bring the San Ofre Nuclear Generating Station - just up the coast from San Diego - into focus. Who is / was she who is /was the child?  - there's a whole pointless quest where I'd like to know what happened to every single one of the people in the film. But this image stays with me  on its own. I don't need or want to know anymore, it's perfect.