The Gnostic Film Festival
occurred to me that many of my favorite movies seem to share that common underlying theme: the idea that reality isn't quite (or maybe at all) what you've been assuming it was all this time. It's an old suspicion, certainly. As Bob Dylan said, "Something's going on, but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?"
Having been duly encouraged, here is my selection of ten films chosen for vaguely Gnostic themes and imagery, each individually taste-tested at the Stone Mirror Institute, for your viewing enjoyment.
- The Matrix--Of course. This film has pretty much become the epitome of this sort of theme. It's a well-crafted, exciting and engaging adventure, with incredible special effects. The idea that the reality which we take for granted is only a surface masking the truth lying underneath is well-exploited here. I was gratified to see Keanu Reeves pumped full of lead, and somewhat sorry that it didn't take. The Wachowski Brothers have made a classic here, no question.
- Dust Devil--This movie, not for the faint of heart, is one of my very favorites. A...well, a spirit, I guess, has somehow gotten itself trapped here in our universe of matter and form. It's struggling to get the hell out again, an effort which involves multiple murders. In the form of a man, this creature hitchhikes across the bleak African landscape (the whole movie was filmed in Namibia), taking up with the despair-ridden and collecting their pain and desperation. Not your average serial killer here. And not a movie for the squeamish. You Have Been Warned.
- Dark City--A man wakes up without a history, without a memory, in a strange city where it is always night, a city that seems to change from one day to the next in ways that can't quite be pinned down. Is he a killer? His search for answers makes for a taut and compelling film that moves in some unexpected directions to a smashing resolution.
- Jacob's Ladder--Jacob, a New York City postman, is a Viet Nam vet, a survivor. But suddenly, his life is getting strange, first in small ways then in progressively more overt and terrifying ones. Is it a side effect of an accidental exposure to chemical weaponry during the war, or something more frightening? Jacob's descent into unreality is a truly fearful journey--all sorts of aspects of his experience are so off, whether slightly or grossly, that we find ourselves pulled into his nightmare. Tim Robbins gives an amazing performance as the tortured Jacob; Adrian Lyne has made a masterpiece here. Also notable for being the only film of which I'm aware that quotes Meister Eckhart. And one of Macauley Culkin's first films, as it happen. The disgusting little geek.
- The Lathe of Heaven--Based on the classic Ursula Leguin novel, we asked to consider here whether having your dreams come true is really something to be desired. George Orr (played effectively by Bruce Davison) has dreams that change the world. When his psychiatrist attempts to use that power in order to make that world a "better place", the trouble really starts. Get the original, not the remake; happily, it's recently been released on DVD after having been completely unavailable for decades.
- Hellraiser--Clive Barker has regularly explored semi-Gnostic themes, but perhaps never so strikingly as in his short story The Hellbound Heart, the basis for this film. He developed a terrific plot device (as evinced by the string of sequels inspired by the original film)--the idea that a gateway into a larger reality could be hidden in something as apparently innocuous as a toy, perhaps...a puzzle box. The first of the sequels is well done, too, with some striking imagery, but I'd skip the rest unless you're a diehard "Pinhead" fan.
- The Truman Show--Truman has been a star since the day he was born. His television show is watched by everyone on the planet, and everyone is in on the gag but Truman. Jim Carrey gives a great turn as a man caught in a world not of his own making.
- Total Recall--One of Ah-nold's better movies, this is based (loosely) on the Philip K. Dick story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale. So, you're a spy being chased from here to Mars by evil forces trying to keep a secret hidden by benevolent aliens from becoming public knowledge. Or is that just an implanted memory? Is there a difference? whatever his other faults may be, Paul Verhoeven gives good action movie.
- eXistenZ--David Cronenburg continues to explore what illness and health mean, and just how much or our reality happens inside our heads as opposed to "out in the world". This is a theme he's explored in most of his films, most notably perhaps in Videodrome. eXistenZ asks whether a sufficiently high-resolution simulation of reality might actually be reality, in one of his more tightly structured and well-resolved films.
- Galaxy of Terror--Probably my all-time favorite sleaze-bo Roger Corman production, this flick strands a bunch of astronauts (and a few buxom astro-nettes) on a planet where each of them is forced to face their deepest fears, with unpleasant (and squishy) results. Keeps your eyes peeled for the giant caterpillar scene, and for Erin Moran (Ron Howard's erstwhile little sister Joany on Happy Days) getting graphically squoze into raspberry Jell-O. For some inexplicable reason, this one has failed to make it onto DVD so far; you may have to hunt around for it.
Honorable mention to Fallen, The Ninth Gate (a better movie than many on this list, just not as "Gnostic"), From Beyond (mentioned in my list of "Best Lovecraftian Films"), In the Mouth of Madness (ditto), The Prophecy, Lord of Illusion, and, I'm sure, several others that aren't springing to mind.