I saw that film and really liked it. I think it was called Mindstorm, and starred Ellen Burstyn. I can't find it on the web though ~ just a newer film by that same name, but I remember there being a second film with the same name, so that's probably it.Lemurian said:
Movies about reincarnation?
- Thread starter Libellule
- Start date
star rover
Senior Registered
Nope, it's title is NOT "Mindstorm"....
.... It's "Brainstorm"!
I saw it the first time in the early eighties the first time, and found it so fascinating I watched it again on video and as movie on TV - I even video-recorded it when I had the chance!
It's not so much about virtual reality as a vision of a brain-scanning technology that makes it possible to register and record on tape all sensory input from one human and then replay it into another human's brain, so that person experiences the other person's recorded sensory input as it wore that person's own...
Another thing I think is slightly incorrect is the description of the female scientist having an heart attack from getting electrocuted. As far as I remember she's portrayed as a heavy smoker, which accidently leads to her having that heart attack... But the rest is correct: She's taking the opportunity to record on tape what a dying person is experiencing!
The part were the recording continues AFTER her physical death is highly improbable though (even if fascinating to watch on screen): After all the brain-scanning device in the movie is built on the premise that there is some electrical activity going on in the brain - which makes it perfectly probable that you can detect what comes out of dying brain, but not an already dead such (i e brain that has seased to function at all)...
Nevertheless a fascinating and thought-provocative movie!
End of rant
Star Rover :thumbsup:
.... It's "Brainstorm"!
I saw it the first time in the early eighties the first time, and found it so fascinating I watched it again on video and as movie on TV - I even video-recorded it when I had the chance!
It's not so much about virtual reality as a vision of a brain-scanning technology that makes it possible to register and record on tape all sensory input from one human and then replay it into another human's brain, so that person experiences the other person's recorded sensory input as it wore that person's own...
Another thing I think is slightly incorrect is the description of the female scientist having an heart attack from getting electrocuted. As far as I remember she's portrayed as a heavy smoker, which accidently leads to her having that heart attack... But the rest is correct: She's taking the opportunity to record on tape what a dying person is experiencing!
The part were the recording continues AFTER her physical death is highly improbable though (even if fascinating to watch on screen): After all the brain-scanning device in the movie is built on the premise that there is some electrical activity going on in the brain - which makes it perfectly probable that you can detect what comes out of dying brain, but not an already dead such (i e brain that has seased to function at all)...
Nevertheless a fascinating and thought-provocative movie!
End of rant
Star Rover :thumbsup:
Yes, that's what I first thought the name of the film was, but after searching on the web I decided that Mindstorm seemd more probable.
Still, that didn't stop me from enjoying the film.
Perhaps you're right that it was just a dramatic device for the purposes of the film, but then again there's the age old question of just when does a person actually die. In this case, if we say that death officially occurred when the woman's heart stopped, then maybe her brain kept on going for a while. OTOH (third hand?), the whole premise for the technology is pretty wild, IMO.star rover said:
Still, that didn't stop me from enjoying the film.
Owl
Super-alt Mitglied
Nobutada said:
Well, not exactly remember but with these two films I feel different:
_Moulin Rouge: I feel I´m back in those days, end of the XIX century, when half the city is dark and half is bright, and most society members are hypocrites and false, but on the other hand there are the artists and the non-conformist people.Well, I don´t know but I feel back at that time, with that film and with Oscar Wilde´s books.
_Der Untergang (the downfall): I remember feeling sad for the destruction of Berlin and for what the russians did.
dark rosaleen
Senior Registered
Gladiator, in the scene where the guy's walking through a wheat field. Something about wheat fields has a major impact on me. They're comforting.
Athlynne
Senior Registered
I know I'm not thinking of most of the movies that really affected me, but off the top of my head:
"Anne of the Thousand Days" - Starring Richard Burton as Henry VIII, beginning with the start of Henry's infantuation for Anne Boleyn and ending with her execution. I guess I identified with Anne; I always felt on her side, very moved by her spirit and courage, and wished I could've done something to help her.
"Amadeus" - Makes sense from a past-life point of view; several of the main characters were people I knew as Antoinette. Now I know why I would get so upset when Mozart died, why I was so fond of the character of the Emperor and annoyed with him at the same time, etc. As a child, though, I only knew that the story made me incredibly sad, yet I could not stop watching it.
The "Lord of the Rings" movies - An extension of my life-long love for the books. Middle-Earth was always the world I wanted to live in, the way I thought this world should be.
"Anne of the Thousand Days" - Starring Richard Burton as Henry VIII, beginning with the start of Henry's infantuation for Anne Boleyn and ending with her execution. I guess I identified with Anne; I always felt on her side, very moved by her spirit and courage, and wished I could've done something to help her.
"Amadeus" - Makes sense from a past-life point of view; several of the main characters were people I knew as Antoinette. Now I know why I would get so upset when Mozart died, why I was so fond of the character of the Emperor and annoyed with him at the same time, etc. As a child, though, I only knew that the story made me incredibly sad, yet I could not stop watching it.
The "Lord of the Rings" movies - An extension of my life-long love for the books. Middle-Earth was always the world I wanted to live in, the way I thought this world should be.
There is a new movie coming out in November titled THE FOUNTAIN. It looks promising. It follows him through two past lives and a future life. :cool
tommcfearsom
Senior Registered
The Prisoner Of Reincarnation
Hello Folks
I am a fan of the 60's television series The Prisoner while it is not a movie I think that mentioning it here is appropo. The series is about a James Bond like agent who resigns and then finds himself kidnapped and held prisoner in a place called The Village. He wakes up everyday with a new challenge to his sense of identity,not unlike the movie Groundhog Day. I think folks might enjoy this TV classic.
Yours Truly
John R.
Hello Folks
I am a fan of the 60's television series The Prisoner while it is not a movie I think that mentioning it here is appropo. The series is about a James Bond like agent who resigns and then finds himself kidnapped and held prisoner in a place called The Village. He wakes up everyday with a new challenge to his sense of identity,not unlike the movie Groundhog Day. I think folks might enjoy this TV classic.
Yours Truly
John R.
earthly adventurer
Senior Registered
Review of The Fountain
I saw The Fountain. It was visually just beautiful. Yes, you could say it deals with reincarnation. Rachel Weisz's character is dying of cancer, and has been writing a book, that she insists her husband, Hugh Jackman, finish for her. He is a medical researcher, refusing to accept that she is going to die, and is working on finding a 'cure' in his current research. He gets more and more distraught, unwilling to accept that death is inevitable; while she is trying to emotionally connect with him in these last days, and get across to him her idea--that death is just a transformation. His reading the book in pieces, in her final days, gradually brings him along to share her perspective, and in the end he realizes what to do to for the book's 'ending,' to bring closure.
The book takes us to lavish, dramatic scenes of a past, where she is a Spanish queen, I guess Isabella, during the Inquisition, and he is a conquistador. She gives him instructions to visit South America, where there is supposed to be hidden a magical 'fountain' of youth, of some sort, which the queen hopes will save her country. He scoffs at first, but then takes the mission, as she promises that when found, she will make him her king, and they will live forever.
The movie also moves back and forth with scenes of him in another 'reality,' inside a bubble, a beautifully rendered symbol of his quest to save her; and as his realization grows, he moves into his own sense of peace about his existence.
The dialog I thought was bland, for what was being portrayed. The relationship between the two leads to me did not seem to hold the passion and otherworldly chemistry of real 'soulmates,' of the kind they chose to portray. Yes, he 'acted' passionately, but there was some subtle something that seemed missing to make this all feel coherent and meaningful. Maybe they tried to do too much with the unfortunate short length films are limited to these days.
Those who already are well-steeped in a sense of their own connections to reincarnation, and realize that our souls are vast, etc. will not be that overwhelmed by this attempt to capture it in film. Much was underwhelming, as compared with the intensity suggested by some of the realities. It had no lasting impact on me, though I was certainly moved at times. I can relate to his expressions of intense frustration, regarding not accepting death.
All that being said, there still is much beautiful imagery and attempts at metaphor and symbolism that shouldn't go unappreciated, and the musical score is beautiful. I'd probably watch it again, just for the attempt to perfectly capture visually the magic and pathos of the soul's experience. However, I appreciate that it can be said that such profound things are in no way able to be captured by such mundane means; and any attempt to do so only seems to be a mockery, appear very crude, and inevitably fall far short of the mark. But--I appreciate that someone is using all the means available in their craft to try.
It was a very ambitious undertaking. While parts of it seem visually as close to perfect as can be attained in film, that unfortunately leaves everything that is less than perfect glaringly apparent.
I saw The Fountain. It was visually just beautiful. Yes, you could say it deals with reincarnation. Rachel Weisz's character is dying of cancer, and has been writing a book, that she insists her husband, Hugh Jackman, finish for her. He is a medical researcher, refusing to accept that she is going to die, and is working on finding a 'cure' in his current research. He gets more and more distraught, unwilling to accept that death is inevitable; while she is trying to emotionally connect with him in these last days, and get across to him her idea--that death is just a transformation. His reading the book in pieces, in her final days, gradually brings him along to share her perspective, and in the end he realizes what to do to for the book's 'ending,' to bring closure.
The book takes us to lavish, dramatic scenes of a past, where she is a Spanish queen, I guess Isabella, during the Inquisition, and he is a conquistador. She gives him instructions to visit South America, where there is supposed to be hidden a magical 'fountain' of youth, of some sort, which the queen hopes will save her country. He scoffs at first, but then takes the mission, as she promises that when found, she will make him her king, and they will live forever.
The movie also moves back and forth with scenes of him in another 'reality,' inside a bubble, a beautifully rendered symbol of his quest to save her; and as his realization grows, he moves into his own sense of peace about his existence.
The dialog I thought was bland, for what was being portrayed. The relationship between the two leads to me did not seem to hold the passion and otherworldly chemistry of real 'soulmates,' of the kind they chose to portray. Yes, he 'acted' passionately, but there was some subtle something that seemed missing to make this all feel coherent and meaningful. Maybe they tried to do too much with the unfortunate short length films are limited to these days.
Those who already are well-steeped in a sense of their own connections to reincarnation, and realize that our souls are vast, etc. will not be that overwhelmed by this attempt to capture it in film. Much was underwhelming, as compared with the intensity suggested by some of the realities. It had no lasting impact on me, though I was certainly moved at times. I can relate to his expressions of intense frustration, regarding not accepting death.
All that being said, there still is much beautiful imagery and attempts at metaphor and symbolism that shouldn't go unappreciated, and the musical score is beautiful. I'd probably watch it again, just for the attempt to perfectly capture visually the magic and pathos of the soul's experience. However, I appreciate that it can be said that such profound things are in no way able to be captured by such mundane means; and any attempt to do so only seems to be a mockery, appear very crude, and inevitably fall far short of the mark. But--I appreciate that someone is using all the means available in their craft to try.
It was a very ambitious undertaking. While parts of it seem visually as close to perfect as can be attained in film, that unfortunately leaves everything that is less than perfect glaringly apparent.
Reynardine
Senior Registered
Have any of you new members come here because a historical film or novel has jogged your memory? Please feel free to share
Der Untergang (usually called Downfall in English) always resonated strongly with me even before I became aware of reincarnation and my memory of being an Oberst at the Battle of Berlin. It's my all time favourite film and I often become sad and even angry watching it, especially when Weidling gives his capitulation speech (which my memory is of). Everything just seemed so familiar, and it was only later I learnt that it was filmed in areas of St. Petersburg that are stirkingly similar to 1940s Berlin and is quite historically accurate compared to other films. I can't resist a WWII documentary either, even if I already know everything that it's talking about.
You're definitely not alone there. I experience the exact same thing on weekly or fortnightly basis - I seem to think of something to come and forget about it untill it actually happens, then I'll get an overwhelming sensation of deja vu.Kira said:
wyldcat
Senior Registered
Well thanks to a Christmas giftcard I finally got my hands on the lovely Criterion edition of Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows. I found myself seriously identifying with the sense of fatalism and despair, and necessary paranoia. (I was also kind of peeved at the heroes for being Gaullists, I've always liked the Communist underground better 
)
A few years ago a past-life astrology reading here, bolstered by a dream I'd had at about that time, told me I'd been an Austrian dissident executed by the Nazis shortly after annexation. I do know I have a whole lot of dreams about being chased by the Nazis, oddly enough at least half the time it's in a present-day setting (the night after seeing the film, clearly influenced by it, I dreamed I was dating a man who I suddenly suspected was a Nazi spy, without the setting of the dream appearing to change from what seemed my ordinary life).
Of course one could read all kinds of political meanings into this; the post 9/11 climate of fear really hasn't helped my natural anxiety one bit. I wonder though if I'm just being too romantic in trying to ascribe being rather antisocial and neurotic in my current life to a past life so noble and glamorous (though of course in reality it would have been anything but). So many of my hangups come from growing up an intelligent, geeky, weird kid that never really connected with my peers, but then it's strange how some feelings seem to run deeper than that and sort of hard-wired in. Any thoughts?
)A few years ago a past-life astrology reading here, bolstered by a dream I'd had at about that time, told me I'd been an Austrian dissident executed by the Nazis shortly after annexation. I do know I have a whole lot of dreams about being chased by the Nazis, oddly enough at least half the time it's in a present-day setting (the night after seeing the film, clearly influenced by it, I dreamed I was dating a man who I suddenly suspected was a Nazi spy, without the setting of the dream appearing to change from what seemed my ordinary life).
Of course one could read all kinds of political meanings into this; the post 9/11 climate of fear really hasn't helped my natural anxiety one bit. I wonder though if I'm just being too romantic in trying to ascribe being rather antisocial and neurotic in my current life to a past life so noble and glamorous (though of course in reality it would have been anything but). So many of my hangups come from growing up an intelligent, geeky, weird kid that never really connected with my peers, but then it's strange how some feelings seem to run deeper than that and sort of hard-wired in. Any thoughts?
Believe2007
New Member
On the lighter side
If there are any Bollywood fans in this forum, I thought I should mention the movie "Om Shanti Om". This movie was one of the biggest hits of 2007 in India and revolves around Reincarnation. (An extra is reincarnated as a movie star). I really liked the movie. Just as a caution though, it is a "typical Bollywood" film with songs and dances etc. So, if you do watch it don't expect any deep philosophical take-aways.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024943/
If there are any Bollywood fans in this forum, I thought I should mention the movie "Om Shanti Om". This movie was one of the biggest hits of 2007 in India and revolves around Reincarnation. (An extra is reincarnated as a movie star). I really liked the movie. Just as a caution though, it is a "typical Bollywood" film with songs and dances etc. So, if you do watch it don't expect any deep philosophical take-aways.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024943/
PaulAdams
New Member
Did any of you ever watch "Made in heaven" with Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis?
I saw it once a lot of years ago and i saw it again on tv on 9/11 2001 while packing my things on my way back from holiday in Sardinia... very sad...
However i think it's a fine PL themed movie.
I'd also like to spot you an episode from Star Trek Voyager called "Ashes to ashes". In this episode, the USS Voyager crew sees the return of an alien who claims she IS their former crewman Lt Lindsey Ballard. The Khobali just reproduce themselves stealing dead bodies from other races and genetically modifying their biology to fit their own. In this case, clearly, the former human girl remembers too much of her life, causing her ambivalent feelings to her old life on voyager. In fact she escape and joins again the incredule crew of the ship. Later, however, she realizes that she's more khobali than what she thoughts and kiss her old friends goodbye, ready to embrace her new life in other form with her actual people who love and miss her a lot.
A nice episode, one of my favourites just before i started to investigate my recent vietnam us marine past life.
As Spock would say... "Fascinating..."
I saw it once a lot of years ago and i saw it again on tv on 9/11 2001 while packing my things on my way back from holiday in Sardinia... very sad...
However i think it's a fine PL themed movie.
I'd also like to spot you an episode from Star Trek Voyager called "Ashes to ashes". In this episode, the USS Voyager crew sees the return of an alien who claims she IS their former crewman Lt Lindsey Ballard. The Khobali just reproduce themselves stealing dead bodies from other races and genetically modifying their biology to fit their own. In this case, clearly, the former human girl remembers too much of her life, causing her ambivalent feelings to her old life on voyager. In fact she escape and joins again the incredule crew of the ship. Later, however, she realizes that she's more khobali than what she thoughts and kiss her old friends goodbye, ready to embrace her new life in other form with her actual people who love and miss her a lot.
A nice episode, one of my favourites just before i started to investigate my recent vietnam us marine past life.
As Spock would say... "Fascinating..."
Sunny1994
SUNNY1994
Jane Seymour
Hello! There is a movie that I have seen a hundred times, that stars Jane Seymour. She is a married mother of one, and when she becomes pregnant with her 2nd child she starts remembering snipets of a P.L. in Ireland. I have seen this many, many times. And, know that it is a well known case, but for the life of me I can not remember the title. Anybody have any idea??? Thanks! ;0)
Hello! There is a movie that I have seen a hundred times, that stars Jane Seymour. She is a married mother of one, and when she becomes pregnant with her 2nd child she starts remembering snipets of a P.L. in Ireland. I have seen this many, many times. And, know that it is a well known case, but for the life of me I can not remember the title. Anybody have any idea??? Thanks! ;0)
alaskanlaughter
Senior Registered
This is what I found searching the Internet. I've read the book about this case but I haven't seen the movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Cockell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Cockell
Sunny1994
SUNNY1994
Jane Seymour
Yes! Thank you! I had been pondering, and pondering, and finally the title of the movie came to me shortly before I recieved your email. That movie was one of the first I had ever seen that spoke of a real life case of reincarnation. Was very good, and sad. Thanks again! ;0)
Yes! Thank you! I had been pondering, and pondering, and finally the title of the movie came to me shortly before I recieved your email. That movie was one of the first I had ever seen that spoke of a real life case of reincarnation. Was very good, and sad. Thanks again! ;0)
Star Trek Voyager has a lot of interesting spiritual-related episodes, like Mortal Coil (no afterlife [though I always figured that the conclusion was a hallucination, after all, how could a dead person tell someone else if there was no afterlife? sounds fishy]), Barge of the Dead (afterlife, at least for Klingons) to other episodes like Cathexis, which support disembodied consciousness, even in brain dead situations. Interesting show.PaulAdams said:
PaulAdams
New Member
Yep.jhskulk said:
And Star Trek in general too.
What people always do not understand about science fiction is its main motive.
Science fiction is only an escamotage to talk about deep or important issues or arguments in a completely head-over-heels point of view.
As a matter of fact, the case of Jadzia Dax is completely about reincarnation (sort of). In fact she recalls her past lives due to the fact she has a symbiont in her body and, more precisely, her body is the host of the real being who carries memories of previous hosts and fuses his knowledge and awareness with the one from his hosts in his lifetime (which is very long).
In a few word science fiction comes to the point from a different angle and in some way force the reader or the watcher to suspend its judgment (in literature terms) while suggesting him other possibilities of existence.
In Star trek Deep Space Nine that sort of reincarnation makes sense because it has a biological and "scientific" explanation from the beginnig.
It's like to talk about a japan girl preparing her tea in her kitchen. There's nothing to argue about that. But the way in which she does her tea or moves or thinks as reported by plot is a different story and it is really what stimulate audiences to think.
That's the word: thinking.
That's the main reason why science fiction is not so popular today. It just drives people to think in abstract keeping an open mind, it suggests to sometime (or often) think about things from different points of view.
For example the classical question "And so if everything I/we know it's wrong?" which maybe have creepy answers.
And we know that people is scared by that.
People is scared to embrace something that abduct them from their routines and from everything they think it's "normal" or "used to".
But i know a secret and i'll keep it for me only...
ButterflyPsyche
Senior Registered
I adore "What Dreams May Come." It is visually appealing, interesting, realistic and surreal at the same time. For anyone who believes in love, reincarnation or the afterlife, it is a real treat - one of the few movies that left me feeling better for having seen it.
"Somewhere In Time" was also excellent, kept me on the edge of my seat.
Thank you for the other suggestions here. I will definitely check them out!
"Somewhere In Time" was also excellent, kept me on the edge of my seat.
Thank you for the other suggestions here. I will definitely check them out!
Yes, in fact DS9 really got me thinking about the whole consciousness - reincarnation - universe thing. The Trills of course are very obvious, but also, the constant theme throughout DS9 - the Prophets saying that "it isn't linear". I took it to mean that time is not linear. I was fascinated and hooked! Glad to see another Star Trek fan here!PaulAdams said:
kstornado11
Senior Registered
Hmmm... I can't seem to find this on Google ...? I am always looking for books/movies about the old south,Civil War era & earlier. I get chills sometimes watching them,& going to antique stores & touring old mansions.Deborah said:
Dracula (1992). There is a strong reincarnation-theme in this movie.
Yes. This Coppola's Dracula resonates with me. It is my favourite movie. I think that I may have lived in 15th century, thus the beginning of this movie has a special meaning for me. Although I have been fascinated by vampire and werewolf stories since I was about 5 years old or younger, so the feelings this movie arouses in me may not be past life - related at all.Nobutada said:
lynxie
New Member
The Lake House
I saw The Lake House last year. It is not about reincarnation, but about a love that beats time.
The film starts with a woman who sees a man get hit by a car in the street. A few days later she receives a letter from a man who seems to live where she lives. They keep writing and posting letters in their own mailboxes, until it turns out that the big house in the woman's neighbourhood still has to be built in the timeframe in which the man lives. They are two years away from eachother. A heartwarming correspondence rises, and the two of them fall in love. When they are to meet, the woman (or the man, don't remember) makes a reservation in a restaurant for within two years. But when the time comes, the man doesn't show up...
I forgot about the details, but the story is about a love that beats timeframes and prejudice. These two people believe in what they are writing to eachother and eventually the truth (and love) always wins. (It has a happy ending. I wouldn't want to spoil such a cliché film for anyone.)
I saw The Lake House last year. It is not about reincarnation, but about a love that beats time.
The film starts with a woman who sees a man get hit by a car in the street. A few days later she receives a letter from a man who seems to live where she lives. They keep writing and posting letters in their own mailboxes, until it turns out that the big house in the woman's neighbourhood still has to be built in the timeframe in which the man lives. They are two years away from eachother. A heartwarming correspondence rises, and the two of them fall in love. When they are to meet, the woman (or the man, don't remember) makes a reservation in a restaurant for within two years. But when the time comes, the man doesn't show up...
I forgot about the details, but the story is about a love that beats timeframes and prejudice. These two people believe in what they are writing to eachother and eventually the truth (and love) always wins. (It has a happy ending. I wouldn't want to spoil such a cliché film for anyone.)
Hi There!
Made In Heaven is one of my all time favorites. I still watch it once in awhile. I love showing it to unsuspecting visitors.:laugh: It always opens a wonderful discussion about heaven and such...
I loved the book...Portrait of Jennie so much when I was young that I can't bear to watch it today in film, in case it will ruin my view of it.
I find that I can't watch sad movies anymore...I am becoming too sensitive these days. Helena
Made In Heaven is one of my all time favorites. I still watch it once in awhile. I love showing it to unsuspecting visitors.:laugh: It always opens a wonderful discussion about heaven and such...
I loved the book...Portrait of Jennie so much when I was young that I can't bear to watch it today in film, in case it will ruin my view of it.
I find that I can't watch sad movies anymore...I am becoming too sensitive these days. Helena
soulfreindly
Senior Registered
Here in Canada there was a three part documentary several years ago called Past Life Investigations.
This is the first part of three people being regressed , then an investigation of their facts ,with some amazing truths to their memories.. ..
I have the last two episodes on tape , but I missed this episode -- lucky me to have it on google now .. I shall be looking for a repeat of the whole show , so I can tell everyone to watch as it was so well done. :thumbsup:
This is the first part of three people being regressed , then an investigation of their facts ,with some amazing truths to their memories.. ..
I have the last two episodes on tape , but I missed this episode -- lucky me to have it on google now .. I shall be looking for a repeat of the whole show , so I can tell everyone to watch as it was so well done. :thumbsup:
I don't think this one has been mentioned yet. I just found out about it tonight. It's called, "The Singing Forest" and it's about two lovers reincarnated after their deaths in the Holocaust. I got the info off of this link: http://www.jewishfilm.com/jz39.html
Just search it for The Singing Forest. It got a bad review apparently, but I hope it's not as bad as some of the comments made it sound because it would be a shame to waste the concept they had.
Just search it for The Singing Forest. It got a bad review apparently, but I hope it's not as bad as some of the comments made it sound because it would be a shame to waste the concept they had.