This selection includes films, watching which is akin to meditation. After them you feel as if renewed. 10 films for spiritual seekers open up new horizons of consciousness and open up new dimensions for the viewer.
Samsara (2011)
This film is a kind of journey to different parts of the Earth. The viewer is swept across all continents, visiting more than twenty countries. The vagaries of nature, industrial disasters, places where time has stood still for centuries, bright contrasts and impressive beauty… All this is the face of the modern world as we know it.
The film is a logical continuation of the previous films directed by Ron Fricke – “Chronos” and “Barack”. In these films he also explored the relationship between humanity and the planet.
Tree of Life (2011)
The film “The Tree of Life” became a real discovery in Cannes and won the Palme d’Or there. He raised a huge number of important questions. Among them there was a place both for the spiritual quest of an individual person and for the cornerstone issues of our entire civilization.
The plot develops around the life of a boy named Jack. He is one of three brothers. At first, Jack sees the world as filled with his mother’s love and father’s care. But over time, he realizes that life is a complicated thing. The guy faces pain, suffering and bitterness of people close to him. And ultimately with death.
Ashes and Snow (2005)
Director Gregory Colbert decided to say goodbye to the bustle of civilization for a while and go to the primary source of life – to the wild. To do this, he went into voluntary hermitage in the desert and the ocean. At the same time, he took with him only a camera and several credit cards.
Over the next 13 years of his impromptu exile, the photographer traveled almost half the world, reaching the most remote corners of the planet. This whole experience formed the basis of the film.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter and spring again (2003)
The story begins in the spring. A wise teacher raises a little boy, tries to teach him to love people, country, nature. And although the elder foresees future events, he cannot prevent them.
Life goes on. The boy becomes a youth, then a mature man. Childhood cruelty grows with him and reveals itself in adulthood. After committing a murder, he ends up in prison.
Only after experiencing a hard life there does a person turn into a sage, an educator. And a new spring comes. This South Korean film is an integral part of the “10 films for spiritual seekers” selection.
Andrey Rublev (1966)
The famous historical film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky was awarded several international film awards. Including the FIPRESCI prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1969.
The film shows the life of Rus’ in the 15th century, as seen by a wandering monk, a Russian icon painter, from 1400 to 1423.
The creation of the film was preceded by a long and painstaking study of documents from archives of the early 15th century. Tarkovsky had the courage, within the limits of the oppression of the censorship of that time, to turn to the biography of the church artist and approve an unknown provincial actor, Anatoly Solonitsyn, for the main role.
Captain Fantastic (2016)
The main character of the film, a former hippie and now the head of a family with six children, chose the forest as his place of residence. Ben’s children have never been to the city. They didn’t see other people. They don’t know what soda tastes like or how social communication works.
But they are well versed in science and speak several languages. Mother and father came up with their own method of raising and teaching their children. This brings real results. But one day the idyll comes to an end. The whole family is forced to go to the big city.
Into the Wild (2007)
The film tells the true story of traveler Christopher McCandless. This young man from a very wealthy family rejected the material values of modern society. At the same time, he gave away all his money to charity and began to wander.
For two years from 1990 to 1992, he traveled throughout the United States and Mexico. He worked odd jobs until he finally ended up in Alaska.
Here he made his final act of self-denial. He settled in a harsh desert area in an old school bus.
Little Buddha (1993)
A group of Buddhist monks led by Lama Norbu seeks the reincarnation of his teacher Lama Dorje. He finds three children who perhaps represent the transformation of this teacher.
Jesse Conrad’s boy from Seattle, a homeless man from Kathmandu and a girl from a noble Indian family. Together they travel to Bhutan, where the children must be put to the test. This way they will find out which of them is the true reincarnation.
Peaceful Warrior (2006)
Dan Milman is a talented college gymnast. He dreams of performing at the Olympic Games. He has it all: awards, teammates, girls and crazy parties.
Dan’s world is turned upside down when he meets a mysterious stranger named Socrates. After serious injury, with the help of Socrates and an ephemeral young girl named Joy, Dan realizes he still has a lot to learn.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
The film recreates in detail the last 24 hours of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The action begins in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus came to pray after the Last Supper.
The actors in the film speak Aramaic or Latin. After all, director Mel Gibson believed that everyone already knew what he was talking about. Still, he was persuaded to add subtitles.
The film caused a storm of criticism in which Mel Gibson was accused of anti-Semitism. Despite this, “The Passion of the Christ” grossed more than $600 million. Without this picture, the list of “10 films for spiritual seekers” would be incomplete.