Fragments from Heaven: An ambitious quest to discover the origins of life

“Can matter be formed out of nothing? How was the universe created?” These are the two metaphysical questions posed by Abderrahmane Ibhi, a scientist and a professor of Geology, to a classroom during one of his lectures.

The students are surprised and remain silent.

Then, some brave ones attempt to give an answer, and they mumble words such as ‘particles,’ ‘energy’ and ‘Big Bang’ until the lecturer begins talking about the concept of ‘nothingness.’

"Fragments from Heaven is based on a captivating philosophical premise but, owing to its pacing and dichotomic approach, it doesn’t fit the feature-length format chosen by the documentarian"

The themes tackled within this scene are at the core of Moroccan independent filmmaker and musician Adnane Baraka’s (APEX – Wandering stars) second documentary feature, titled Fragments from Heaven.

In it, the Marrakech-born helmer develops a complex scientific and philosophical discourse revolving around the origins of life by zooming in on two specific subjects.

The first is indeed the aforementioned Abderrahmane, who relies on meteor debris to pursue his geological research, whilst the second is Mohamed Oubakha, a nomad who lives with his family in a tent in a remote area of the desert.

In order to improve his family’s harsh living conditions, he decides to go in search of meteorites, which can be sold at a fair price and may help him to make ends meet.

In the works since 2014 and shot between 2017 and 2019, this Moroccan-French co-production was world-premiered in the Cineasti del Presente’s strand of this year’s Locarno film Festival (3-13 August) and was recently presented as a work-in-progress project at Cannes’ Marché du Film (17-25 May) and Paris-based Cinéma du Réel (11-20 March).

Here, Baraka seems to craft two different documentaries in one. In the first, the director chooses to follow Mohamed and adopts a highly contemplative mode of filmmaking.

It is characterised by slow-paced sequences, slight camera movements, frequent use of long takes, and a careful ambient sound design, accompanied by the man’s staid voice-over.

In some instances, Mohamed’s words on death, destiny and survival may sound overly poetic (“In the end, we don’t cross the road, it’s the road that crosses us,” or “We don’t live in the desert, yet the desert lives in us”), and one may question how spontaneous they are.

We realise, however, that Baraka’s efforts aim to create a contrast with the ‘other documentary,’ in which Abderrahmane stars. The sequences led by the geologist are, predictably, more grounded in reality.

Here, the camera becomes more dynamic, the atmosphere is never otherworldly and the mystery behind the origins of life and Earth lies is a mere subject of academic scrutiny.

That being said, one may wonder whether this peculiar ‘two-in-one’ formula works here. The answer is ambivalent.

On the one hand, it works because Baraka manages to choose two interesting subjects who effectively embody the conflict between nature and culture and does so while delivering images of stunning beauty.

On the other hand, it doesn’t quite hit the mark because, even though in theory the conflict played by Mohamed and Abderrahmane may be appealing and offer enough creative opportunities, in practice such dichotomy ends up disengaging the spectators with an irregular – and, rather frequently, exceedingly slow – pacing.

Besides, the general feeling is that there is a lack of a coherent, unifying vision. The meteor is a too loose connection which succeeds only in part at building up a visual or spiritual ‘dialogue’ between Mohamed and Abderrahmane.

In fairness, however, it is worthwhile adding that this is the type of film spectators should only watch in theatres, as it requires a high attention threshold.

Furthermore, there are many examples of striking imagery and, technically speaking, Baraka’s work on cinematography, sound and editing (the latter credit is shared with Karine Germain) is compelling and denotes extensive research work on scientific research, nomadic life and the environments the latter inhabit.

The picture’s last twenty minutes see Baraka exploring another abstract, ethereal territory, wherein time flows even more slowly and an impressive spectacle of nature takes centre stage.

In conclusion, Fragments from Heaven is based on a captivating philosophical premise but, owing to its pacing and dichotomic approach, it doesn’t fit the feature-length format chosen by the documentarian.

It may be a palatable dish for the enthusiasts of visual anthropology filmmaking, but it probably could have found a better home as a short or mid-length film – or as an art installation – for a wider, non-specialist audience.

Davide Abbatescianni is an Italian Film Critic and Journalist based in Rome

Follow him on Twitter: @dabbatescianni