Spiritual Cinema
"Movies containing spiritual, metaphysical, conscious or similar messages or themes".
Simon Keyes explains the idea behind Spiritual Cinema.
It is the extraordinary power of cinema, high or low, serious and exploitative, to move and disturb us that we should celebrate and embrace in all its diversity. Films can fertilise our inner lives and provide a counter-balance to that compartmentalisation of our "religious" selves that Thomas Merton dubbed our "personal holiness project". The feelings and shadows that films (well, perhaps not quite every movie) incarnate in us give us privileged access to the world beyond our immediate experience. The sights and sounds of cinema can resonate in the realms of the unconscious and the archetypal like no other medium, and there is much for us to learn about ourselves in this experience.
Below is a list of "the best of" this genre...
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
7.4/10
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley
When young Bastian borrows a mysterious, ornately-bound book, he never dreamed turning a page would draw him into a shimmering fantasy world of racing... Read more
The Neverending Story ( Blu-ray ) (1984)
7.4/10
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley
When young Bastian borrows a mysterious, ornately-bound book, he never dreamed turning a page would draw him into a shimmering fantasy world of racing... Read more
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
8/10
Director: Charles Laughton
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
Robert Mitchum gives one of his best performances as Harry Powell, a psychotic self-styled preacher who is after the stolen money of a hanged man. Set... Read more
The Night of the Hunter ( Blu-ray ) (1955)
8/10
Director: Charles Laughton
Starring: Lillian Gish, Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters
Robert Mitchum gives one of his best performances as Harry Powell, a psychotic self-styled preacher who is after the stolen money of a hanged man. Set... Read more
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
8/10
Director: Henry Selick
Starring: Danny Elfman, Paul Reubens, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara
A wonderfully bizarre and visually stunning Yuletide treat from Tim Burton, who uses stop-motion animation to tell the story of Jack Skellington, the... Read more
The Nun (2018)
5.7/10
Director: Corin Hardy
Starring: Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons
When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows... Read more
The Nun (Blu-Ray) (2018)
5.7/10
Director: Corin Hardy
Starring: Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons
When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows... Read more
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
7/10
Director: Brenda Chapman, Simon Wells, Steve Hickner
Starring: Val Kilmer, Sandra Bullock, Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Steve Ma...
A spectacular animated retelling of the story of Moses. The biggest star-studded voice cast ever assembled for an animated film includes Val Kilmer, R... Read more
The Princess Bride (1987)
8.1/10
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon, Wal...
A very special, engaging fairy-tale comedy which mixes romance, magic and swashbuckling action as told to a young boy by his grandfather (Peter Falk).... Read more
The Razor's Edge (1984)
6.6/10
Director: John Byrum
Starring: Bill Murray, Catherine Hicks, Denholm Elliott, Theresa Russell, James Keach
Bill Murray gives a finely balanced comic and dramatic portrayal as Larry Darrell, a man searching for meaning after World War I in this adaptation of... Read more