Watching Movies of Life - the Movie Meditation
These descriptions of certain emotional states of mind are intended to encourage us to watch specific aspects of our life as if they were a movie. A five star movie in this list is not rated necessarily as a highly entertaining, mainstream movie. Instead, a good movie suggested here may more accurately reflect the drama of life in all its facets -- the shadow of an emotion as well as its positive side. Find out what moves you and learn to simply let it be. Meditation is watching, unidentified and non-judging.
S -- Anywhere At Home
The shadow side
Feeling guilty, being guilty, wanting to be part of a family or society and the same time being rebellious against it, fear of change and getting thrown out, being insecure, poisoning oneself with all kinds of intoxicants just not to feel guilt, being depressive or aggressive, conforming to rules, "as long as you are living under my roof..."
The light side
Feeling safe and secure, being at home with oneself, being in tune and in harmony with the family and society, being stable, welcoming the unknown and change, offering emotional motherly protection, supporting family and society lovingly, understanding guilt, being an island of security in constant change
Movies with these themes
Finding Forrester
Finding Forrester is the story of Jamal Wallace's life in the rough world of the inner city. Although Jamal is intellectually gifted, he puts little effort into his schoolwork to avoid criticism from his friends. On a dare, he sneaks into a recluse's apartment and, to his surprise, befriends the inhabitant. The man helps Jamal with his writing, in exchange for Jamal keeping a secret: the man is William Forrester, the secluded author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Avalon Landing, his only published book. When a highly selective private school, Mailor Callow, sees Jamal's test results, he is offered a scholarship. Jamal accepts, although it is a major culture shock to go to this elite school. He is immediately befriended by a board member's daughter, which eases the transition. Also at the school he is the prominent figure of the school's basketball team by the liking of the board members...
Rivers and Tides
Rivers and Tides is a 2001 documentary directed by filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer about British artist Andy Goldsworthy, who creates intricate and ephemeral sculptures from natural materials such as rocks, leaves, flowers, and icicles. The music was composed and performed by Fred Frith and was released on a soundtrack, Rivers and Tides (2003)...
Wilbur wants to kill himself
That rare thing, decency, shines out of Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself), a wonderful and dark-humored comedy about a would-be suicide. The depressive Wilbur (Jamie Sives) is the opposite of his big-hearted brother, Harbour (Adrian Rawlins), yet he remains irresistible to women--including Harbour's new live-in girlfriend. Director Lone Scherfig uses the gray-skied Edinburgh location in much the same way she did her native Denmark in the terrific Italian for Beginners; the gloomy setting belies the vaguely magical things that might happen to the characters. Scherfig knows just how to balance different tones (and in a comedy about a suicidal man, she has to), and she's great with actors, even in small roles. Special standouts here are the beaming Rawlins and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (King Arthur), as a stoical, chain-smoking doctor. How nice it is to see a movie that makes you feel good without coming on all icky about it. --Robert Horton
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
The film is divided into five segments (the five seasons of the title), each segment depicting a different stage in the life of a Buddhist monk (each segment is roughly ten to twenty years apart, and is physically in the middle of its titular season)...
While you were sleeping
Sandra Bullock plays Lucy Ellenore Moderatz, a lonely fare collector on the Chicago elevated railway. The highlight of her days is selling a token to a handsome commuter, Peter Callaghan (played by Peter Gallagher), on whom she has a secret crush. Working on Christmas, Lucy witnesses Peter being mugged and pushed onto the tracks, and she rescues him from an oncoming train. Peter falls into a coma and she accompanies him to the hospital, where she fantasizes aloud, "I was going to marry him". A nurse overhears her and, misinterpreting the situation, tells the head physician, a policeman and Callaghan's family that Lucy is his fiancée. At first Lucy is too caught up in the madness of everyone's panic to tell the truth, and after that she is too embarrassed to.
An orphan with few friends, she becomes so captivated with the quirky Callaghans and their unconditional love for her, that she cannot bring herself to hurt them by revealing that Peter doesn't even know her. She spends a delayed Christmas with the family so "they can get to know each other". Lucy then meets Peter's younger brother Jack (Bill Pullman), who has taken over his father's business and is always working. Jack is very suspicious at first, saying Peter never mentioned Lucy or a marriage, which is not like him. Later on, after spending some time together to get acquainted, Jack starts to realize that he himself has feelings for Lucy...
The Godfather
At the wedding reception of Don Vito Corleone's daughter Connie and Carlo Rizzi in the late summer of 1945, Vito, the head of the Corleone Mafia family – who is known to his friends and associates as "Godfather" – and Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer and consigliere (counselor), are hearing requests for favors from friends and associates, because "no Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day". Meanwhile, the Don's youngest son Michael, a decorated Marine war hero returning from World War II service, tells his girlfriend Kay Adams anecdotes about his father's criminal life, reassuring her that he is not like his family.
Among the guests at the celebration is the famous singer Johnny Fontane, Corleone's godson, who has come from Hollywood to petition for help in landing a movie role that will revitalize his flagging career. Jack Woltz, the head of the studio, will not give Fontane the part, but Don Corleone explains to Johnny: "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse." Hagen is dispatched to California to fix the problem, but Woltz angrily tells him that he will never cast Fontane in the role, for which he is perfect, because Fontane seduced and "ruined" a starlet that Woltz favored. The next morning, Woltz wakes up to find the bloody severed head of his prize $600,000 stud horse in the bed with him, and gives in...
Garden State
Andrew Largeman wakes up from a bizarre nightmare in which he is on a crashing plane to a telephone message from his father, telling Andrew that he needs to return home because his mother has just died.
Andrew leaves Los Angeles and returns home to the state of New Jersey to attend his mother's funeral. He recognizes the gravediggers as old friends, and they invite him to a party that night. He takes ecstasy at the party, but remains detached. At home, Andrew has his father book a doctor's appointment for headaches he's been having.
The morning after the party, Andrew proceeds to his doctor's appointment, meeting a girl named Sam, a pathological liar, in the waiting room. In Andrew's meeting with his doctor, it's revealed that Andrew has been on lithium, as well as other mood stabilizers and anti-depressants, for his entire adult life, but has stopped taking them. He also says that his father, who is also his psychiatrist, put him on the medications in the first place. Andrew finds Sam outside of the office, eventually offering her a ride home. Sam invites him to her house, and he meets her mother. After returning home, Andrew's father confronts him, who is insistent that they have a talk before Andrew leaves town...
Mansfield Park
The story follows Fanny Price, who (at the urging of her aunt, Mrs. Norris) is sent to live with her wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park, The Bertram family- Sir Thomas, Lady Bertram (Fanny's other aunt)and their four children: Tom, Maria, Edmund and Julia. Fanny's arrival at Mansfield Park was less than welcoming especially when Mrs. Norris treats her more like a servant than kin. As the separation from her own family begins to overwhelms her, Fanny starts to cry. Young Edmund walks in on a distraught Fanny and in order to amuse her, he rides a toy horse much too small for him. Through this simple act of kindness, Fanny immediately bonds with Edmund and they grow ever closer as the years progress. Just as their mutual fondness for each other seemed destined to blossom into romance, the Crawford siblings arrive to disrupt their lives. Edmund is instantly smitten with the lovely and charming sister, Mary Crawford and devotes all his time and attention to her completely. Meanwhile, Edmund's two sisters, Maria and Julia, vie for Mr. Crawford's affections, even though Maria was already engaged to Mr. Rushworth. Although Mr. Crawford was shamelessly flirtatious with Maria in the beginning, he then decides to pursue Fanny as a means to amuse himself. But Fanny's gentle and kind nature inevitably captures his fancy, and Henry Crawford finds himself genuinely interested in her. Unlike the Bertram girls, Fanny distrusts Henry and finds his declarations of love false. Even so, Henry asks Sir Thomas for Fanny's hand in marriage and she is urge to accept Mr Crawford's advantageous offer, but surprises and disappoints the Bertrams when she does not. After a stubborn Fanny continues to refuse, Sir Thomas gives her an ultimatum- accept Henry's proposal of marriage or be sent back to her impoverished family and be removed from the creature comforts she has grown accustomed to. Fanny looks onto Edmund for support, but his indifference forces her to choose the latter...
Remark
Although the movie list is inspired by Tibetan Pulsing typologies on the human mind, it does not claim to be completely accurate in its assessment.
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