paul
Posts 247
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11/2/2007 10:32 AM
posted awhile ago
FilmCouch #44 - Spirituality and movies
In this episode, Kevin and I invited listeners to share any experiences they considered to be spiritual while watching a movie. So, please feel free to share. I'll start by sharing a bit more detail around my experience with Children of Men. In the scene mentioned during the podcast where the warring soldiers stop firing on eachother when they hear the baby crying, I felt I had the most palpable experience of what Joseph Campbell called the "unknowable." It was a visceral moment of respect for life and the "force" behind it. The intangible idea that we're connected, that in saving another's life, I'm saving my own became real for me in that scene. Those are the best words I have. As usual, the "spiritual" stumps intellectual explanation, but I encourage you guys to give it a shot and share your experience here. -p
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Risselada
Posts 1443
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11/5/2007 3:23 PM
posted awhile ago
Re:FilmCouch #44 - Spirituality and movies
How about the ending of The Diary of a Country Priest where he remembers that one moment in his life that might have really made a difference. Has anyone seen the movies The Color of Paradise? I think that movie is a strive for the spritual moment, and it achieves it a least once.
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estefanos
Posts 11
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11/10/2007 5:01 PM
posted awhile ago
Re:FilmCouch #44 - Spirituality and movies
While spiritual experience is hard to pin down with words, my sense is that it has to do with an inner feeling or emotion of certainty that there is more to existence than meets the physical "eye", ( by which "eye" I mean the reductive stance that believes all reality can ultimately be explained through emperical experiments).The films that impart this sense of inner or "mystical" knowing to me best are those that intentionally deal with this sense of mystery leading to truth. This is necessarily a slippery subject, as inward truth can be invoked by but always transcends physical images and intellectual constructs. That said,some films that come immediately to mind are The Virgin Spring, All That Jazz, The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Straight Story, Aparajito, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep. These and many other films deal with characters struggling to come to grips with their sense of reality and the moral choices this struggle imposes. In that sense almost any good drama that deals with moral ambiguity has a spiritual element to it. But films that deal directly with philosophical dilemmas as opposed to post-modernistically revelling in chaos or futile irony are much more resonant to the heart. Also, films that are irreverent but maintain a sense of seeking reality or at least real-ness such as Dogma have a legitimate spiritual sensibility imho. (ps- how do I create a link?)
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indieabby88
Posts 281
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11/20/2007 12:50 PM
posted awhile ago
Re:FilmCouch #44 - Spirituality and movies
Kudos, guys, for doing an episode on what I feel is a really important topic. I've been interested in spirituality and film for a really long time, so it was great to hear it discussed so well. I agree, by the way, with your findings on "The Darjeeling Limited," that while it's about a spiritual journey, the journey itself seems very superficial, and the movie would have been better had that part of the plot been examined more deeply. Anyway, I just wanted to say how glad I was to hear that episode of the podcast. Keep it up!
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