Wendezeit

This film is a philosophical conversation between three intelligent people coming from vastly different backgrounds, each being experts in their respective fields of politics, physics and poetry. The three discuss the dominant paradigm of modern culture and how it is limiting when trying to solve the world's problems. When I saw it I was so excited about it that I told all of my friends to watch it, I also added that they would need to watch it when they are alert enough to grasp what is being said. In other words watch it after drinking coffee not after having dinner. The film doesn't evoke adrenaline surges or erotic fantasy; rather it nourishes the mind by forcing you to think. If you don't know what a paradigm is then this film is not for you. It may be too intellectual for the average movie watcher and perhaps is its own unique genre of film.

A film that relies heavily on dialogue, but is ultimately fulfilling.

The director has taken the realm of film to display a table top

discussion, or more accurately a philosophical conversation between someone's most interesting and intelligent friends.

It's a movie you can imagine yourself as an eavesdropper in on one of the most engaging and interesting discussions on life.

Worth the two hours and a subject matter still topical to world problems today.

repeat for 10 line approval...

A film that relies heavily on dialogue, but is ultimately fulfilling.

The director has taken the realm of film to display a table top

discussion, or more accurately a philosophical conversation between someone's most interesting and intelligent friends.

It's a movie you can imagine yourself as an eavesdropper in on one of the most engaging and interesting discussions on life.

Worth the two hours and a subject matter still topical to world problems today.

Being an egghead of sorts and a student of so many philosophies, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie the first time I watched it, and each time after that. Sam Waterston, Liv Ullman, and John Heard star as 3 people who meet by chance while touring an island. They then spend the rest of the movie talking about various scientific and philosophical concepts. There are brief (and very wooden) appearances by Ione Skye as the daughter of Liv's character.

The topics they discuss are fairly heady, but despite the edgy nature of their topics, the discussion never becomes heated or even mildly animated. Others have made the perfectly valid point that the dialog is one-sided, and I completely agree. Topics of this kind of importance and scope demand a discussion with all viewpoints represented. Otherwise, it can't approach the real heart of the issue, and it spirals rapidly into intellectual propaganda. These are good topics and valid points; they deserve better treatment. Nonetheless, the movie was enlightening on some levels.

I you're going to watch it, don't watch it to be entertained or awed by an auteur's cinematic masterpiece (which this isn't); watch it to expand your mind. Pay no attention to the plot (thin as it is) or the acting (stiff and clumsy at times). Just open your mind to the ideas expressed, then think about it after the movie has ended, because the topics discussed can go so much farther. The movie falls a bit short in expressing them; you'll have to finish the journey yourself.

It might be a little hyperbolic for me to say this movie changed my life, but it has certainly been a mainstay since a friend and I discovered it quite by accident several years ago. We knew Fritjof Capra as an author and knew that one of his books is what brother Bernt used as a skeleton for the movie. I find it HIGHLY ENTERTAINING over and over to this very day, because I understand that GOOD CONVERSATION is a lost and discounted art. This movie captures, in a breath-takingly beautiful and dynamic setting, one of the best dialogues in the history of thought. It communicates in relatively simple terms some of the most important and expansive issues of today, but it does not spoon-feed the viewer. It includes discourse on politics, scientific concepts, influences on perspective, as well as having some great lines, interesting quotes, and memorable, well-presented poetry. Its theme is to communicate through dialogue, monologue, descriptive prose, music, guided visual imagery, constant changes in setting (all in one locale, VERY IMPRESSIVE cinematographical work) and (yes) even drama and antagonism between the characters. The theme is borne of a new school of thought, and understanding and assimilating the message is something a person can actually do to make the a world better place.

Mindwalk is a synthesis of physics, politics and poetry. I use the film when I teach about atoms, and the history of science. It is an excellent tool for teaching scientific debate. I have never heard a negative from my students. I have had a lot of questions generated. This coming spring my science club is going to tackle two Capra books, the Tao of Physics and The Turning Point.

ANY film that causes students to ask questions is of value.

The film is as interesting in the What the Bleep film. My major love for Mindwalk is that it does not change in currency, it is as new today as it was when I began using it 6 years ago.

The actors are wonderful. The scenery is beautiful, and the dialog is divine.