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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...

Indigo (2003)

4.9/10
Director: Stephen Simon
Starring: Neale Donald Walsh, Meghan McCandless

A film about loneliness, redemption, and the healing powers and grace of the new generation of Indigo (psychic and gifted) children being born into th... Read more

Luther (2003)

6.6/10
Director: Eric Till
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Alfred Molina, Jonathan Firth, Claire Cox, Peter Ustinov, Bruno...

Joseph Fiennes delivers a fine performance in the title role of this affecting religious biodrama. When the Pope orders his priests to sell absolution... Read more

Dogville (2003)

8/10
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, Jean-Marc Barr, Paul Bettany, B...

From director Lars von Trier ("Dancer in the Dark") comes this riveting drama focusing on mysterious fugitive Nicole Kidman as she hides from gangster... Read more

Solaris (2002)

6.2/10
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Jeremy Davies, Natascha McElhone, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur

Aboard a lonely space station orbiting a mysterious planet, terrified crew members are experiencing a host of strange phenomena, including resurrected... Read more

A Beautiful Mind ( Blu-ray ) (2001)

8.2/10
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Judd Hirsch, Russell Crowe, P...

Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress, Ron Howard's compelling, real life drama centers on J... Read more

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ( Blu-ray ) (2001)

8.8/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKell...

In the first installment of director Peter Jackson's ambitious and successful film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, Elijah Wood stars a... Read more

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within ( Blu-ray ) (2001)

6.4/10
Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Ming-...

The year is 2065 A.D. The Earth is infested with alien spirits and mankind faces total extinction. Led by a strange dream and guided by her mentor, Dr... Read more

Samsara (2001)

7.8/10
Director: Pan Nalin
Starring: Christy Chung, Shawn Ku

Indian born filmmaker Pan Nalin makes his directorial debut with this sensual, elegant look at sex and spirituality. Tashi (Shawn Ku) is a brilliant y... Read more

Waking Life (2001)

7.8/10
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Steven Soderbergh

Director Richard Linklater's innovative cartoon odyssey uses live-action footage overlaid with matching computer animation to create an experience as... Read more

To End All Wars (2001)

7.1/10
Director: David L Cunningham
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland, Ciaran McMenamin

Tells the true story of four Allied POWs who endure harsh treatment from their Japanese captors during WWII while being forced to build a railroad thr... Read more