ambient, plotless, visual movies?
 

Are there any movies or video series which function like ambient music only for visuals... such as a series consisting only of driving... Like the first five minutes of Gerry only spread out to longer levels. I find something relaxing about this style and would think it would be interesting for an ambient series of videos / movies where it just shows life.

Something slower, more meditative and focused than Koyyanisqatsi / Baracka, but not static like the Warhol experimental films, something where there is real cinematography and artistry behind it but the topic can be as mundane as driving for an extended period of time, or at the beach or something.

The reason I ask is because I am at my desk 5-7 hours a day typing, sometimes I put movies on but with no volume as I need free ears... so something like this would at least give a feeling of being out in the world and having some visual stimulation while I type... So far, what's worked best have been: Russian Ark, Cops (lol), Bumfights, obviously the last two are trash entertainment, but I'd even be open for recommendations like them.

See Begotten. Just sayin'

These films that I'm about to recommend to you aren't completely "plotless" or ambient but they are very close to your criteria. In fact, I play them for very same purpose - ambience and visual.

Any films by Andrei Tarkovsky - most notably Mirror, Stalker, Nostalgia and The Sacrifice.
Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura, L'Eclisse, Red Desert and The Passenger.
Kaneto Shindo's Naked Island.
La Jetée
2001: A Space Odyssey
Abbas Kiarostami's Red Cherry and The Wind Will Carry Us.

1. La Vie Nouvelle (Philippe Grandrieux)
2. Tuvalu (Veit Helmer)
3. L'Intrus (Claire Denis)
4. Dogora (Patrice Leconte)
5. Exils (Tony Gatlif)
6. Historias Minimias (Carlos Sorin)

etc...

Of course, what everyone has been imitating since 1994 is Tarr's Satantango.

Ciao,
Pro-B

Jim Jarmarsch's Stranger Than Paradise would work.

Not plotless, but "The Big Blue" is beautiful.

I wouldn't say his films are plotless, but Terrence Malick isn't afraid to let the camera linger on a beautiful shot or three to enhance story theme.

Cremaster flicks?

Winged Migration
Step Into Liquid
Ghost in the Shell: Innocence

The original Solaris was painful to sit through.

This might be the perfect thing: Steve Roach- Time of the Earth

"Time of the Earth offers a unique DVD immersion experience. Either as an engaging audio-visual odyssey or for the environmental enhancement of one's living space, this captivating film experience invites repeat viewings. Steve Roach -- the master of mind-altering, atmospheric soundworlds -- has long been influenced by the expansive landscapes of the desert southwest. On Time of the Earth, he has found the visual poetry to match his evocative music: a 77-minute photographic feast for the eyes created by Steve Lazur. Gleaned from three years of filming the most remote natural wonders of the American West, turbulent cloud formations hover over sun-scorched canyons. Epic rock sculptures grant reluctant entrance to vistas still echoing from the dawn of creation. Time-lapse and slow motion film techniques merge with real-time movement through landscapes so surreal they draw viewers into an alternate universe that nonetheless exists right here on this planet."

Antonio Gaudi (1984)

Now out on DVD.

Look into Discovery Channel's Sunrise Earth series.

pr0n can be ambient, plotless and visual. Not ideal for work environment though, one would think.

'Chasing Amy' is plotless, but not very applicable to this thread ... ;)

Kurosawa's Ran.. while not plotless, it's beautifully shot. Plus it's like 3 hours long.

Bela Tarr

Waking Life

Some of Werner Herzog's documentaries might fit the bill:

Fata Morgana
Lessons of Darkness and
The Wild Blue Yonder

Short films by Jan Svankmeyer. He was a big influence on the Brothers Quay. They were a big influence on whoever made the Tool music videos.

But they aren't slow, and they tend to grab your attention.

"A Scanner Darkly" is nice to look at.

IF you can find it, I would suggest Slither by Jeffers Egan and Jake Mandell

http://www.jeffersegan.com/dvds.html

The Planet Earth series is your friend.

Microcosmos