Interreflections (2020) User Reviews

A two hour and thirty minutes monologue

[miromoman · 5/10 · 15 October 2020]

This is essentially a two hour and a half monologue in the voice of different actors intertwined with two different storylines. The first is some kind of sci-fi short story and the second consists of a series of expressionist metaphors intended to reinforce ideas conveyed by the monologue. Together the three components add up to the two hours and forty five minutes total duration of the footage.

The main issue with the monologue itself is that it is purely ideological, meaning non-factual and poorly documented.

The artistic insertions, on the other hand, happen to be hackneyed, predictable and poorly executed, whereas the short story end ups being a commercial pitch to raise funds for an "utopian" futuristic design project.

All in all, the whole thing is pretty boring. The only reason I gave it five starts is because, if soporifeous, this thing remains an attemp for refocusing the debate on crucial issues.

Confused

[charlieshread · 5/10 · 7 October 2020]

What I loved about Zeitgeist Moving Forward is that there were many voices of people who brought their own way of speaking, their own perspective and insights and then there was a lot of time spent on a possible solution to many issues: The Venus Project. Over the last few years since, I've become disenfranchised by the allure of the naïve vision, though I still agree with developing an open source commons of resource sharing somehow.

Interreflections, by contrast, is just one voice: Peter Joseph for 2 hours and 45 minutes. This whole confused film feels like one badly structured essay spoken by a few random actors to give the illusion of diverse voices, covering that fact that this is clearly a single minded ego train of one man. There were moments I enjoyed - I liked it when he made references to real research, especially when talking about inequality. And I kind of enjoyed some moments in "the great debate". I must give credit to the incredible effort put into the special effects and obviously the huge amount of time and work put in to create this film. Overall, I didn't hate the film, but let's be clear, it was bad. It was jarring, slow and confusing. Almost the entire film was unstructured cynicism with the last 5 minutes for "the solution" - a city that magically appears out of nowhere and is loosely based on a resource based economy, though is incredibly shallow because there is literally only 5 minutes to briefly introduce a slice of utopia and even more naïve than the Venus Project because this wonderful city just literally gets plopped into the ocean by some group of futuristic activists. I mean seriously. I thought this would be like a development from Moving Forward, but it was a serious step back. If Peter Joseph wants to stay relevant he needs to connect with the real world, not retreat further into cynicism and hide behind a totally shallow veil of utopia.

what''s interesting to me...

[imizrahi2002 · 7/10 · 18 July 2021]

Is all the time spent discussing moot points...very eloquent, well thought out moot points... first i''ll comment on the movie, though... lots of good material poorly presented...by good i mean in its deconstruction of some of the institutions that are ''behind the curtain'', as one might say in Oz... one example would be how it illuminates the shadowy history of economics...especially modern economics... it speaks of the sources of problems we/the planet faces today... but it''s rushed and garbled in places...poorly acted...that captive ''revolutionary'' in space...what were they THINKing??? That his good looks would mask the fact that it seemed he was cold reading so MANY important lines? And that was the way it was with something like half the cast... and then there were ''those interludes''...with the pretty, dark haired, young woman, moving from scene to scene...it seemed that this would have moved along a LOT better without ANY of this portrayal... and yet, i was still very impressed with the material...no matter how poorly presented... but there''s something i should have made clear right in the beginning...this is not the kind of movie one digests, therefore INgests, in one sitting...much better to take the time to actually take notes on anything you might find interesting and reviewing again...a piece at a time...rushing through this a LOT will get away... now for why this is moot... we're doomed, ecologically speaking...if this hasn''t become clear with one ecological disaster due to human activity after another, weeeeelllllllllll, what an optimist YOU are...the machine remains stoked and the planet smokes...what isn''t getting flooded...no. We stepped over the line and i haven''t heard a plan yet that would disable the perpetually destructive weather that we''ve put into motion... so yeah...nice thoughts...thinking, alone(or together) won''t pull us back from the freefall we''re already in... reflect all you wish...it''s full steam towards the iceberg... and if you think i''m just some ''crazy person'', you haven''t been paying attention to much of the news...

Like Zeitgeist Moving Forward - but made with big dose of art!

[janlind999 · 10/10 · 11 October 2020]

Great mix of art and facts in here about the direction the world is going - and that isn't pretty.. We elect presidents and other leaders that are just, more or less, psychopaths and power seeking people! I sometimes think that most people are too "blind" to understand what is going on around them and in the world (maybe busy working, or they probably don't have enough all-embracing knowledge to understand what is really happening. Sadly). InterReflection gives, at least me, hope that more people will "wake up" from their wicked/disturbed sense of reality - and maybe, at least maybe start to wonder if we actually could go in the direction of making the world better. Far better! Hm, how many "Trumps or Bidens" (of any of those fools) will we elect before we finally wake up and realises that this isn't working anymore...

InterReflection is very important, and at least for me, a masterpiece!

Important Topic, but nearly 3 hours of an atrocious movie.

[LovesCinematography · 2/10 · 15 October 2020]

This film is basically a regurgitated lecture of Peter Joseph's lectures. One character in the film is played as a professor and is quoted as saying "Some things were considered external to this contrived competitive game they called business" This clearly sounds way too much how Peter Joseph uniquely talks.

The script was indigestible and felt like a course instead of a movie. There was literally no plot. I guess you can say there was a tiny storyline, but it was clouded out by over used jargon. It was very hard to keep my eyes on it for nearly 3 hours.

The Good:

• The music was nice and fit the scenery of the film very well.
• I follow Peter Joseph's work, so I do find the topics in the film extremely important

The Bad:

• No plot. Not a documentary. My guess is you can call it a Mockumentary
• Acting is so bad. Like really bad. I can't knock the actors. Al Pacino himself wouldn't be able to give life to such a script.
• The special effects and color grading was bad and pretentious at best. Overblown soft tones and lumination was a bit nauseating.

Conclusion: I gave the rating of this film a 2 and not a 1 because I felt that the film's topic is important. Capitalism is an extremely inefficient system. Although we have no other system better to replace it, we have elitist fans who defend Capitalism which ultimately impedes on any progress to our social condition.

This film feels as though it's directed at Peter himself and those who agree heavily with the Zeitgeist Movement. If there was any attempt to bring further outreach to those outside this circle or provide an enjoyable movie, then this Film failed miserably. If there was no attempt to bring further outreach and it was created purely to provide a somewhat entertaining outlook of the movement for those WITHIN the circle, I think it did well.

10 for importance

[cbankord · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

Just like the book, this piece contains a lot of the information necessary to understanding the sociological conditions we are in, how we got here, and what true economic system based on equality and sustainability would look like. As well as how imperative it is.

Although for those who know extensively the things Peter talks about, in his lectures and other media, then this is basically a condensed rehash. If you've seen his lectures/interviews like viable systems and improbable democracy on YT, then this covers most of that.

This is not a movie you put on to be entertained. It's a movie you watch and listen closely, because the information is of vital importance to our survival as a species. Especially now, in our confused and divided society mired in conflict and inequality.

The points raised and information given here is not really discussed at all on the left. And that's really ashame because Peter is a messenger. This is not his theories or something derived from his own anecdotal experiences. The left and any activist for human rights or advocate of social equality needs to see this. People on the Trump train or people on the right would probably dismiss this entirely. But this isn't for them.

The movie isnt perfect of course. It's very heavy and dense. I watched it in two parts. Just a ton of information and pretty grim. It's the truth though. Like staring into the sun, but the truth nonetheless and thats why it needs a 10. You sadly won't get the entire puzzle from any single person out there. Just pieces of it. Thankfully Peter has it all here and that's pretty special.

You get what you pay for.

[pta-68229 · 2/10 · 18 October 2020]

Didn't care about any of the characters. Wall of text in the form of a Drama documentary, target audience of true believers. With no sense of humor, no feeling. I cried in the Zeitgeist movies 1 & 2. This one made me yawn and fast forward.

Beautiful, epic, moving and simply brilliant!

[dave-rave · 10/10 · 11 October 2020]

I want to congratulate Peter Joseph on this film. He's done a fantastic job balancing heart and intellect. It covered everything that needed to be said in my opinion. So many good scenes I couldn't choose a favourite. Still trying to understand some of the symbolism but thats rather the point with avant garde style. Couple of scenes that jumped out for me were when the main character lost her job and when people were waiting for her to pick up the dollar bill. I suggest everyone sees this. I mean it, stop reading this and go and watch it. I recommend everyone try to share this film with as many people as possible. If he starts another crowd fund campaign for the sequel next year. I will gladly donate more towards it :)

Couldn't finish it

[demonwareltd · 1/10 · 13 October 2020]

Unlike Joseph's Zeitgeist films that I love and viewed dozens of times, I just couldn't get into this. Every scene dragged on longer than need be and I quickly became disinterested. I had 48 hours to view the rental on amazon but only made it halfway through before I gave up on it. Disappointed.

A Transcendental Film

[danatkinson-01993 · 10/10 · 12 October 2020]

Humanity, you've been waiting for Interreflections for about 12 thousand years....

This film, unlike any other socially conscious film ever made, offers answers to questions you didn't even know you had. And it will take you places you never thought were possible.

It truly is a transcendent work of art, social commentary, and vision for a far better world than we have now. HIGHLY recommended!

Basically a useless 2.5 hour Marxist monologue from a teenager

[musango · 1/10 · 31 December 2020]

Classic Zeitgeist half-truth and blatant lies to support a dogmatic ideologue, socialism in this case. totally one-sided, straw-manning throughout, unable to appreciate nuance whatsoever. Same with Zeitgeist if you do some background research on your own you actually laugh out loud at how blatantly some things are either factually or logically false, or both; but such misdirection is not simply benign because there are problems with extreme inequality and corporate-government corruption that can be combatted, and the very founder of capitalism himself outlined these problems and explained that they would need a well-educated public to democratically elect better policy and representatives, this was at the time of mercantilism which was corporate monopoly and exclusive guilds - he created an open and free market (which does not mean totally unregulated), he was also an ethicist and an egalitarian. but you have to be absolutely braindead to think the abolishment of private property will solve these things.

One of a kind!

[the-matrix-1 · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

After watching Zeitgeist Addendum so many years ago I never thought I will ever watch a better movie, but InterReflection is just...

"Spoilers ahead"

Brilliant opening scene, the music is so powerful and pivotal literally mind-blown from the start! The three stories are made so well, a mix of sci-fi, documentary and art merged into one with such technique that reminded me of the great David Lynch. The crucial difference here is that you actually have an overview of the past, present and future of humankind and it is not just some imaginative story like most movies.

The actors are brilliant, I liked how the movie stopped at some point and one of them asked for a break which brought us back to "behind the scenes" and gave us perspective of how difficult was to make this movie.

Another good moment was when the other actor on the table was talking about the activist community and said movies will be made, then stopped and looked at the camera that actually made you feel part of the movie, which you are because what they are talking about is what is happening in real life, reality and movie mixed together.

I loved the art scenes especially the one in the office, no dialogues needed you just watch it and everything comes together naturally. A pure form of high class art making.

There is not one single weak spot in this movie, everything from start to finish was done astonishingly well and after all these years of waiting I can say it was all worth it.

Hopefully there will be a sequel at some point, although I know how hard was to make this one by following the regular updates, but the end result is just one of a kind.

Well done to everyone involved and keep it up!

No New Information Presented

[mjones-42179 · 3/10 · 12 October 2020]

I have only watched Interreflections once. I understood this new movie to be an artful expression of the Zeitgeist documentary series, but I was not impressed. Actually, somewhat disappointed. As an avid Zeitgeist movie and Peter Joseph presentation follower, no new points were made other than "we are all one", although inferred in the Zeitgeist trilogy. I anticipated a movie demonstrating more detail of the problems associated with transitioning the world using a new "Venus Project" resource based economy, it did not but for a brief part at the end. It simply seemed to be an abbreviated visual supplementary for Peter Joseph's book for a human rights movement. The movie did not follow up to the Zeitgeist documentary series. It repeated the same points made in the Zeitgeist trilogy. I will not chastise the acting and green screen effects as I know Peter was on a limited budget, and it wasn't as bad as many "B" movies I have watched on Svengoolie. Some of the scenes were entertaining metaphors. However, the film droned on human rights points never detailing how the demise of the "ponzi scheme" world monetary economic system occurred as quickly depicted at the end of Zeitgeist: Moving Forward. I guess I will have to wait for Zeitgeist 4 to follow up. I will watch Interreflections again hopefully to get a better perspective of PJ's goals that I missed. Art is in the eye (Zeitgeist eye) of the beholder.

Brilliant showcase of time-conscious, thought provoking, cultural, reality art.

[Hargadon01 · 10/10 · 12 October 2020]

This is what the world needs to view. I have watched many a film/documentary & nothing comes closer to the sheer perfection of social commentary that this film exudes. Metaphor after metaphor of pure genius writing.

Excellent subject, horribly boring and pretentious execution

[sevalgunes · 2/10 · 19 October 2020]

I mainly agree with the review of LovesCinematography. The issues being brought up are very important and current. The way it was presented was too long, boring, artsy-fartsy and preachy. If I compare this to Sir David Attenborough's Witness Statement which also brought up habitat destruction, environmental pollution, species extinction, population explosion and other issues, it is like comparing a student project to a professional work of art. You could cut this 2 hour 45 minute long movie and make it into a 60 minute coherent documentary which would get the message much better across with a vastly improved signal to noise ratio. I wish there was a 60 minute director's cut without all the fluff.

The New Human Rights Movement brought to life on the big screen

[clarkycj · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

This film will gone on to be the most important pieces of art released this century.

If you care about the planet this is a must see film, the transition needs to start now.

not just bad

[adamw332 · 1/10 · 13 October 2020]

Crazy horrible version of some far lefts nightmare.

Great movie

[mohamedsalahbchir · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

For those who don't understand the movie i suggest you read Peter's book "The New Human Rights Movement". Very few people appreciate the effort and courage and sacrifice Peter has done for society.

It's not just bad. It's worse. B-movies at least have charm.

[federicopistono · 1/10 · 13 October 2020]

I am intimately familiar with the filmmaker, Peter Joseph.

I know him, professionally, and personally.

I enjoyed watching the Zeitgeist film series.

While I have many reservations about the content of the three movies, they undoubtedly had a style to be recognized and appreciated. They had a clear tone and a direction.

I had hopes for Joseph's latest creation, Interreflections, which has been in the making for almost a decade.

While I may disagree with the man and his worldview, I can appreciate an artist's work independently.

I tried watching Interreflections.

I really did.

It was quite literally the worst thing I've ever seen in my life.

I've indulged B-movies, C-rated actors, and plain bad stuff. I can endure 10 minutes of something like sharknado every few years.

No problem.

But I couldn't watch this garbage for more than two minutes straight. I had to skip through to see if it got any better at some point.

It didn't.

The green screen is so unbelievably bad it makes everything feel fake beyond imagination.

The acting is even worse.

The plot is non-existent.

I think the major problem of this film is that it can't decide what it is.

Is it a documentary? Is it a fiction? A docu-fiction?

There are scenes where there seems to be a genuine interview with a scientist. And yet, it's painfully obvious that those words did not come out naturally. They were scripted, and badly.

The drama doesn't feel like one. If I wanted to explain to my students at a film school what terrible filmmaking is and why, I would show a scene from Interreflections, and have them analyze it.

It'd be a great exercise.

Interreflections is the perfect example of what you should not do as a filmmaker.

It pretends to portray a new point of view, while it simply rehashes old ideologies, minus the insight or the wittiness.

It wants to be a drama, but has no story and no structure.

It tries to make you think and question authority, but all it does is provide a different kind of propaganda.

Between the atrocious use of green screen, the terrible acting, and the condescending pandering of both the interviews and the "plot", I could not follow anything for more than 60 seconds.

I can't believe Joseph spent half a million and worked for 8 years on this garbage.

There is a silver lining though.

If I ever teach filmmaking techniques to my students, I will refer to this film as a step-by-step guide on what not to do.

A much needed movie in this dystopian times

[vivasflorin · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

Thank you, for all the hard work that you, and your team, put into this movie. I have no doubt that this, if no sudden humanity destruction is emerging from the dystopian times we live in, will be a landmark in future history of when the system was first seen for what it is. Sadly, the 'one' is still divided into individuals and hypocrisy still rules the world we know. Have loved every single bit of your movie and looking forward for the next, but, all in all, hope there won't be a need for the next, and the door towards 'human potential' stays open leading us through the great transition towards the utopian world that 'us' as 'one' we should live in.

Bring BackThe ZEITGESIT Films.

[UglytheClown · 11 October 2020]

An interesting idea... but all over the place. It's like it doesn't know what it wants to be. It comes across like 3 different films edited over the top of each other. A documentary from the future... the final act of a hacking/revolution movie... an abstract... 'thing' that doesn't go anywhere. The film raised $50K on IndieGogo (I donated, being a fan oof the ZEITGEIST films) I am a filmmaker (look me up) ... there is no reason whatsoever this should cost $50k OR take 6-years to put together though. It's mostly actors in front of a green screen with cheap FX added afterwards. Not $50K's worth. Trust me. Being as this took 6-years to get done, I don't see the planned triogy being completed, or even having a follow up, so my advice to Peter Joseph would be: Bring back what made you, what you do best, ZEITGEIST 4.

Ratioed hard

[legionofthesnowzombie · 2/10 · 18 October 2020]

This is self indulgent woo. The green screen cheapness never goes away. I dare say the guy who basically did this on his own, bit-off more than he could chew. Peter should do a little inner reflection himself (see what I did there?).

Buying 10/10's is so obvious, why do people keep doing it, does it work? I guess it does, otherwise I wouldn't be telling you this "movie" blows chunks.

Zero redeeming qualities, getting your hemorrhoids removed is more entertaining. No stars.

A great piece of art and life

[crinalcristea · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

I have watched this movie last night. What an experience! Stunning visuals and sound design. The opening sequence was so beautiful and so heartbreaking.

The movie is long, but it didn't feel so at all. It was extremely engaging, I even wanted more, although the ending was good and overall it felt like a great all together piece.

The actors were great as well.

I highly recommend this movie. It will open your mind to many things.

If you were to watch just one movie this year - this decade - let it be this one.

Thank you, Peter Joseph, for all the hardwork to make this and share it with us all.

We are one.

Tangential nightmare

[jonathandavidson-97753 · 2/10 · 18 October 2020]

The actors did not believe in themselves so neither did I. Gave up after 16 minutes. I'll never get those 16 minutes back. Hectic times.

An important piece from a socio economic perspective.

[rmbull-56201 · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

Excellent piece based on one of the most important socio economic texts of our time "The New Human Rights Movement". Poses, and attempts to answer some of the most salient problems facing society today.