Girl's night out last week was a trip to the Jacob Burns Center to see the new documentary film "Enlighten Up" as part of their Meditative Life series.The film follows Nick Rosen, a 29 year old journalist from New York City, as he practices yoga across America and India for 6 months in an "experiment" to see if and how it changes his life. Nick is skeptical and ambivalent about the potential for spiritual transformation. He also happens to be very cute - the camera loves this guy - and my friends and I agreed that filmmaker Kate Churchill made a smart choice with him. Superficial? Maybe. But, hey, it was girls night out.
I loved this film and think it was very well done. Was Nick transformed by the experience? Yes, but definitely not in a predictable way. To me it was a realistic portrayal of the subtle and unexpected ways we shift and grow when we become open, even a little bit, to the possibility of finding a deeper broader version of our self. It is not a linear process. It is confronting and exasperating at times. It is also an on-going, open-ended life-long trip. And, most of all, it is different for everyone. We're all going, it's just a question of how much we are willing to enjoy the bumpy ride along the way.
I recommend the film and agree with this review:
“…this simultaneously tongue-in-cheek and reverential docu will entertain the unenlightened without alienating the faithful.”
— Ronnie Scheib, Variety
If you don't go see the film, at least look at the great trailer:
1 comment:
the film illustrates well the point that in any search, soul or otherwise, even if you don't find what you were looking for, you inevitably find something valuable and unexpected...
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