Cinema Noesis | Films for evolving minds

||| BY MATTHEW GILBERT for CINEMA NOESIS |||

Farewell, 2020! For most of us, that will be a year to remember, but for all the wrong reasons with no need to elaborate. And now as winter settles in and a new year unfolds, it’s a good opportunity to take another breath and pause. More than ever, patience is a virtue — as well as hope.

The chaos of 2020 upturned the status quo at every level, but fortunately it didn’t dim the urgency of filmmakers to bring their passions to the screen. In this case, that screen was your laptop or phone or television. To put an exclamation point on how traditional movie distribution was roiled by the pandemic, read this recent article from USA Today on how cord-cutting and streaming have taken the place of conventional strategies for launching new movies — nothing new for indie filmmakers. Not to mention the fact that Warner Brothers will be releasing all of its 2021 films, including Dune and The Matrix 4, simultaneously in theaters (those that are open, anyway) and HBO Max.

I can’t quite remember when Cinema Noesis last went out, but I couldn’t let the new year begin without sharing at least a few new films that entertain, inform, and in some cases, inspire. As 2021 unfolds, I will remain on the lookout for quality new releases that are cosmologically relevant, so feel free to ping me at cinemanoesis@gmail.com with suggestions.

May the new year bring you peace, prosperity, and wisdom . . .

Illuminate Returns!

ILLUMINATE is back in business, recently announcing that its annual film festival will return May 20-26, 2021, in Sedona, AZ. Recognizing that COVID complexity will likely reach well into the year, the festival plans to present a hybrid format with both virtual and live outdoor events unless conditions change. For more information, visit the website.

Salon with a Purpose

On a more intimate scale, friend and fellow film afficionado Christine Leuthold has started a virtual salon that features shorts and clips from established filmmakers along with conversation and deep sharing. It’s part of her new community-building venture, Stone Soup Ripple. Her most recent series was titled “Our Music & Our Dreams” with film composer and Jungian psychologist Michael Mollura.

New Films

Ayurveda Unveiled

Directed by Gita Desai (288 min.)

The complex tapestry of Ayurveda has been a mystery to many, but if you’ve ever been curious, here is a definitive resource that is also rich in imagery and imagination. More than a dozen contributors, from spiritual teachers and historians to scientists, botanists, and therapists, reveal both the art and science of this ancient Indian healing tradition. Also in the series: Yoga Unveiled and Raga Unveiled. (available on the website)

The Dalai Lama: Scientist

Directed by Dawn Gifford Engle (2020 | 94 min.)

One of the world’s most inspiring spiritual leaders, the Dalai Lama has also had a longstanding interest in Western science and how its findings are finally catching up to the philosophical teachings of Buddhism. He is joined here by Daniel Goleman, Richie Davidson, Joan Halifax, Alan Wallace, and others as they discuss the remarkable convergence of these two towers of investigation into the nature of reality. (Amazon) Coming soon: The Great 14th: Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama In His Own Words, in which the Dalai Lama is both subject and narrator as he presents his life as a spiritual leader and a simple monk who aspires every day to walk the enlightened path of the Bodhisattva.

Gunda

Directed by Victor Kossakovsky (2020 | 93 min.)

The premise is simple: A ground-eye view of the daily life of a mother pig, a couple of cows, and a one-legged chicken. That’s it. In black-and-white. The result: Spellbinding. The executive producer is Joaquin Phoenix. Multiple awards worldwide. See this New York Times review. (Netflix)

Kiss the Ground

Directed by Joshua and Rebecca Tickell (2020 | 84 min.)

This upbeat and inspiring film, narrated by Woody Harrelson, tells the story of “regenerative agriculture” through the eyes and experience of a traditional farmer who transformed his land and never looked back. A wide range of specialists and practitioners deliver a rich trove of information on climate change, soil health, and ecosystem balance that could all be served by changing our relationship to how we grow food. (Vimeo, soon on Netflix)

My Octupus Teacher

Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed (2020 | 85 min.)

This one caught fire fast, but if you haven’t seen the story of filmmaker/free-diver Craig Foster’s year of exploring a kelp forest in a Cape Town, South Africa, bay, make haste. His relationship with one of the forest’s creatures — an octopus — changed his life and may have the same impact on yours. (Netflix)

My Psychedelic Love Story

Directed by Errol Morris (2020 | 102 min.)

Morris, the award-winning director of The Fog of War and The Thin Blue Line, bases his new film around the British socialite Joanna Harcourt-Smith, a consort of Timothy Leary’s during a colorful six-year period in the 1970s after Leary had escaped from a U.S. prison. The couple partied their way to Afghanistan, only to be extradited back to the U.S. where Leary is said to have become an FBI informant. Truth is stranger than fiction in this globe-trotting, character-rich slice of Leary’s eccentric and controversial life. (multiple platforms)

The Phenomenon

Directed by James Fox (2020 | 100 min.)

On the heels of the revelation in early 2020 that the Pentagon had been funding a secret program to study UFOs — which essentially confirmed their existence, but little else — comes this informative retrospective on the history of the phenomenon dating from the 1950s. (narrated by Peter Coyote) Also new on Amazon is a bolder parallel narrative, Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind: Contact Has Begun, focusing on the work of Steven Greer, who also produced Unacknowledged in 2017. Directed by Michael Mazzola, narrated by Jeremy Piven. (2020 | 120 min.)

Thrive II: This Is What it Takes

Directed by Kimberly and Foster Gamble (2020 | 151 min.)

Thrive I made the case that the planet was under siege by a global elite intent on world domination. Thrive II begins by presenting a series of technological and scientific breakthroughs in physics, medicine, and energy, most of which the Gambles argue have been suppressed by that same elite. To learn why, how, and what they prescribe as the only solution — while being entertained by plenty of whiz-bang CGI — you’ll have to take the red pill. (available on the website)

The Way of the Psychonaut

Directed by Susan Hess (2020 | 86 min.)

To say that Stanislav Grof was a pioneer in the study of human consciousness is to do his extensive body of work a disservice. His impact on the field — and on our understanding of the edges of the human experience — will be felt for decades to come. The film charts his groundbreaking contributions to transpersonal psychology, psychedelic psychiatry, and Holotropic Breathwork — which he developed — while also introducing viewers to a who’s who of global collaborators. (multiple platforms)

The Wild: How Do You Save What You Love?

Directed by Mark Titus (2020)

The fate of the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska, where the pursuit of copper and gold will destroy the headwaters for the annual migration of over 40 million salmon, has been well-documented, but the vivid urgency has been newly illuminated by this award-winning film. As the project inches closer to approval, Titus reminds us of what’s at stake. (available on the website)