Movies for Mental Awakening
This list of down-to-earth movies is a companion to the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, Alan Watts, Sam Harris, Osho, Byron Katie, Jed McKenna, Adyashanti, Krishnamurti, Rupert Spira, Mooji and the countless others who've writen about waking up the mind from the illusion of self.
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30 titles
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsJason StathamRay LiottaAndré 3000Gambler Jake Green enters into a game with potentially deadly consequences.About the structure of the egoic process that is hypothesized by about the whole of Eastern philosophy. Very clever movie in how it portrays this aspect of life. [Blends well with The Nines (2007)]
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsTyrone PowerGene TierneyJohn PayneAn adventuresome young man goes off to find himself and loses his socialite fiancée in the process. But when he returns 10 years later, she will stop at nothing to get him back, even though she is already married.About how being authentic pays off despite the discomfort it might bring along. [Remake from 1984 also worth watching another time]
- DirectorJens LienStarsTrond FausaPetronella BarkerPer SchaanningIn a strange city where every person seems content beyond reason a new man arrives in town and stirs up trouble by asking too many questions.About the price we pay for hypnotizing ourselves and each other into living a stylized life that provides comfort but lacks authenticity.
- DirectorJohn AugustStarsRyan ReynoldsHope DavisMelissa McCarthyA troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways.About the paradox that we supposedly live in a world which at the same time is created by our own minds. [Blends well with Revolved (2005)]
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsEddie MurphyJeff GoldblumKelly PrestonAn over-the-top television evangelist finds a way to turn television home shopping into a religious experience, and takes America by storm.About how having an eye for the loving aspects in people instead of zooming in on the unkind aspects (which both are just as 'real'), can make the experience of life much more fun with less friction. Not as a prescription, but for reflection of which aspects in people we're focused on most and why we do it. Do we like it or is it just a habit?
- DirectorPavel LunginStarsPyotr MamonovViktor SukhorukovDmitriy DyuzhevSomewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives an unusual man whose bizarre conduct confuses his fellow monks, while others who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future.About disruption of the mind as a formula to awaken it.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsPeter SellersShirley MacLaineMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.About how life would simply unfold the way it wants to once you step out of the way by not conceptualizing with your mind. Go with the flow. [Similar to The man who knew too little (1997)]
- DirectorJon AmielStarsBill MurrayJoanne WhalleyPeter GallagherWallace Ritchie is mistaken for a spy and must stop a plot to assassinate international leaders at a banquet.About how we'll end up just where we should without knowing much about what's going on. [Similar to Being there (1979)]
- DirectorJamie UysStarsN!xauMarius WeyersSandra PrinslooA comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.About how confusion on various levels arises. [If you like the movie, there's also a second part]
- DirectorVincent WardStarsRobin WilliamsCuba Gooding Jr.Annabella SciorraChris Nielsen dies in an accident, and enters Heaven. But when he discovers that his beloved wife Annie has killed herself out of grief over the loss, he embarks on an afterlife adventure to reunite with her.About facing your own 'dark' sides - aspects you rather not acknowledge about yourself or emotions you rather not process. About allowing ourselves the (soothing) elements/tools we sometimes need for such processes. (It's listed for its usefulness as an analogy, not because of any belief about how realistically it portrays an afterlife or spirit world (of which I have no knowledge)).
- DirectorFrank CoraciStarsAdam SandlerKate BeckinsaleChristopher WalkenA workaholic architect finds a universal remote that allows him to fast-forward and rewind to different parts of his life. Complications arise when the remote starts to overrule his choices.About how our endeavors to gain ever more control over life might not be what we actually want. [Similar to The invention of lying (2009) and Bruce almighty (2009)]
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsAl PacinoCatherine KeenerRachel RobertsA producer's film is endangered when his star walks off, so he decides to digitally create an actress to substitute for the star, becoming an overnight sensation that everyone thinks is a real person.About the way we conceptualize patterns into objects, even beings. She exists and yet she doesn't. How about ourselves? [Similar to Her (2013)]
- DirectorRicky GervaisMatthew RobinsonStarsRicky GervaisJennifer GarnerJonah HillA comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until a writer seizes the opportunity for personal gain.About how our endeavors to gain ever more control over life might not be what we actually want. [Similar to Click (2006) and Bruce almighty (2009)]
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsWill FerrellEmma ThompsonDustin HoffmanI.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds his mundane Chicago life to be the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.Ego / paradox / authenticity
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsJason SchwartzmanJude LawNaomi WattsA husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means.Ego / paradox / authenticity
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.About how being authentic might take a few attempts if it has been a while, but eventually is more rewarding than any other external success can bring.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJoaquin PhoenixAmy AdamsScarlett JohanssonIn a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.About the way we conceptualize patterns into objects, even beings. She exists and yet she doesn't. How about ourselves? [Similar to S1mOne (2002)]
- DirectorGrant HeslovStarsEwan McGregorGeorge ClooneyKevin SpaceyA reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.I've included this one as a reminder not to take it too serious and have a laugh, even about the 'important' topics in your life, such as spiritual growth.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMichael DouglasDeborah Kara UngerSean PennAfter a wealthy San Francisco banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down as he begins to question if it might really be a concealed conspiracy to destroy him.About ego death and how it (always) feels like 'real' death when opportunity arises. [Similar to Vanilla Sky (2001)]
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsTom CruisePenélope CruzCameron DiazA self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.About ego death and how it (always) feels like 'real' death when opportunity arises. [Similar to The Game (1997)]
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsBrad PittFrances McDormandGeorge ClooneyA disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.About how something can appear from nothing through assumptions and misinterpretations. Analogous to how the egoic sense of 'a self' supposedly arises according to both Eastern wisdow traditions and the current state of neuroscience.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJude LawJennifer Jason LeighIan HolmA game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.About identification, similar to how an ego is formed.
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff DanielsJoan AllenTwo 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.About the price of conformity over authenticity. It doesn't take a role-model in all aspects of life to reveal the hypnotic effect members of a society can have on each other to prevent the uncertainty that comes from change.
- DirectorJosef RusnakStarsCraig BierkoGretchen MolArmin Mueller-StahlA computer scientist running a virtual reality simulation of 1937 becomes the primary suspect when his colleague and mentor is murdered.About the conceptual layer we create in our minds.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsJulie AndrewsDick Van DykeDavid TomlinsonIn turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.About the taste of life without the metaphorical 'spoon full of sugar' i.e. the layer of meaning conceptual thinking adds.