Film Studies 2016-2017
Unit 1/ Who Am I?
Peaceful Warrior
PG-13 | 2h | Drama, Romance, Sport / 23 June 2006 First Released in (USA)
Based on a true story. Dan Millman has it all: good grades, a shot at the Olympic team on the rings and girls lining up for the handsome Berkeley college athlete all teams mates look up to with envy. Only one man shakes his confidence, an anonymous night gas station attendant, who like Socrates, keeps questioning every assumption in his life. Then a traffic crash shatters Dan's legs, and his bright future. Now Socrates's life coaching is to make or break Dan's revised ambition.
One: The Movie (2005) 1h 19min | Documentary, | 20 April 2007 First Released in (Mexico)
In a divided post 9-11 world, first-time filmmaker Ward Powers asks life's ultimate questions of world renowned spiritual leaders and ordinary people. ONE: The Movie weaves the diverse answers, exploring topics of war and peace, fear and love, suffering, god, life after death, and the ultimate meaning of life. The answers reflect global diversity, while emphasizing the oneness of humanity.
Living Luminaries: On the Serious Business of Happiness (2007) 1h 40min | Documentary, Drama | 15 May 2007 (USA)
An actor hits the wall with ego and vices in the modern times and decides to pursue the answers to happiness. A docudrama with extraordinary interviews and insights to wisdom.
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)PG-13 | 2h 6min | Drama, Fantasy, Sport | 3 November 2000 (USA)
A disillusioned war veteran, Captain Rannulph Junah, reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf. He finds the game futile until his caddy, Bagger Vance, teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life.
”The Legend of Bagger Vance's teachings parallels the Bhagavad Gita
Set in India, circa 3,000 B.C.
Arjuna is a warrior-hero and champion archer who loses his nerve.
Krishna, disguised as Arjuna’s humble charioteer, appears out of nowhere to offer spiritual and practical advice.
In the Mahabharata, Arjuna’s captured wife strips for his enemies but Vishnu gives her an endless sari to preserve her modesty. Bagger Vance
And
Set in Georgia, circa ’30s A.D.
R. Junuh (Matt Damon) is a war hero and champion golfer who loses his ”authentic swing.”
Bagger (Smith), disguised as Junuh’s humble caddy, appears out of nowhere to offer spiritual and practical advice.
Junuh’s captivating lover (Charlize Theron) strips for him but director Redford gives her an opaque slip to preserve a PG-13.
Groundhog Day
1h 41 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
12 February 1993 (USA)
A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.
Director:
Harold Ramis
Writers:
Danny Rubin (screenplay), Harold Ramis (screenplay)
Stars:
Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott
Attention:Spoiler Alert
Taken as a light comedy, this movie would rate perhaps eight stars out of ten. But it's much, much more than just a light comedy. It is, in fact, utterly unique. The character of Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, is, quite literally, a man without a future.
What do we gain from watching this movie? Different people will take away different things from it. I discovered two very important truths in Groundhog Day.
One was the importance of concentrating on the things that last. Phil Connors must live the same day over and over again, and is forced to realize that the only real change that will ever be possible must happen within himself. (From this it is a short leap to the realization that this is the only kind of change that really matters; for in his case, it is literally true.) It is at this point that he takes up piano, begins reading, learns to ice-sculpt. But if it weren't for his unique predicament, he never would have realized this; in his routine at the TV studio back in Pittsburgh, we surmise, there was always something changing...and not changing. (It is interesting that Phil is a weatherman: the weather is a perfect metaphor for something that changes constantly...without, in the long term, changing at all.) We can be distracted by the superficial changes in the world around us, and forget that real change in our lives must come from within. This was the great gift of Groundhog Day for Phil Connors: the chance to discover this truth for himself.
The other thing I noticed, while reflecting on this movie, is how uncertainty can keep us from charitable acts. We use our ignorance like a crutch: we don't give to charity because it may be a scam, we don't offer to help someone because they may not need help anyway, and so on. But Phil doesn't have the luxury of ignorance. He knows...he knows with absolute certainty that if he doesn't buy the old man a bowl of soup, that man will die in the streets within a few hours. He knows that if he isn't on hand at the right time, a boy will fall from a tree and break his neck. Faced with such knowledge, even Phil, self-absorbed as he is, cannot stand by idly. Nor could we, in his position. This is a powerful argument for knowledge as the most reliable foundation for generous behavior. What other movie can offer an insight half so profound?
Many more truths can be mined from this movie. As others have said, this is a thought experiment that went very well indeed--better than anything I've ever seen on the Big Screen. As such, I'd vote for it as one of the greatest movies ever made, and very likely the most underrated movie ever made.
Taken as a light comedy, this movie would rate perhaps eight stars out of ten. But it's much, much more than just a light comedy. It is, in fact, utterly unique. The character of Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, is, quite literally, a man without a future.
What do we gain from watching this movie? Different people will take away different things from it. I discovered two very important truths in Groundhog Day.
One was the importance of concentrating on the things that last. Phil Connors must live the same day over and over again, and is forced to realize that the only real change that will ever be possible must happen within himself. (From this it is a short leap to the realization that this is the only kind of change that really matters; for in his case, it is literally true.) It is at this point that he takes up piano, begins reading, learns to ice-sculpt. But if it weren't for his unique predicament, he never would have realized this; in his routine at the TV studio back in Pittsburgh, we surmise, there was always something changing...and not changing. (It is interesting that Phil is a weatherman: the weather is a perfect metaphor for something that changes constantly...without, in the long term, changing at all.) We can be distracted by the superficial changes in the world around us, and forget that real change in our lives must come from within. This was the great gift of Groundhog Day for Phil Connors: the chance to discover this truth for himself.
The other thing I noticed, while reflecting on this movie, is how uncertainty can keep us from charitable acts. We use our ignorance like a crutch: we don't give to charity because it may be a scam, we don't offer to help someone because they may not need help anyway, and so on. But Phil doesn't have the luxury of ignorance. He knows...he knows with absolute certainty that if he doesn't buy the old man a bowl of soup, that man will die in the streets within a few hours. He knows that if he isn't on hand at the right time, a boy will fall from a tree and break his neck. Faced with such knowledge, even Phil, self-absorbed as he is, cannot stand by idly. Nor could we, in his position. This is a powerful argument for knowledge as the most reliable foundation for generous behavior. What other movie can offer an insight half so profound?
Many more truths can be mined from this movie. As others have said, this is a thought experiment that went very well indeed--better than anything I've ever seen on the Big Screen. As such, I'd vote for it as one of the greatest movies ever made, and very likely the most underrated movie ever made.
