Eden

Rating:
Summary: If you love someone, set them free
Review: "Eden" solidifies the concept of "if you love someone, set them free". It also shows how easily students and teachers can reverse roles. Going, Walsh, and Flanery all give great performances. If you want a movie of discovery and tears, this is a must see.

Rating:
Summary: If you love someone, set them free
Review: "Eden" solidifies the concept of "if you love someone, set them free". It also shows how easily students and teachers can reverse roles. Going, Walsh, and Flanery all give great performances. If you want a movie of discovery and tears, this is a must see.

Rating:
Summary: The plot was the worst I've seen, but the acting was great
Review: As for being a "spiritual" movie, it was extremly lacking. The entire movie was slightly akward and jumpy. The acting, which was supreme, was the only thing that kept me watching. However, that was excellent, expecially from Going and Flannery. The characters were obviously well developed and very in turn very well potrayed.

Rating:
Summary: Addiction to astral projection
Review: Eden is the story of a woman, Helen, who learns how to make out of body trips and then becomes addicted to it. As with any serious addiction, it takes over her life. I found it a horror to watch Helen sink deeper and deeper into her addiction, deteriorating in her mental balance and stressing her body by lack of restful sleep and care -- while no one suggests any sort of psychotherapy or even recognizes her addictive behavior. The total absence in the 1960's of any mention or consideration of any sort of mental health care is beyond belief.

If instead of astral projection, the vehicle for Helen's addiction were alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, compulsive eating, or any of the other commonly recognized vehicles, the entire plot would be basically the same. But somehow the fact that the addictive vehicle is astral projection is supposed to turn this film into a life-affirming beautiful self-exploration -- completely oblivious to the true nature of her behavior.

Addiction is addiction, regardless of the means. The portrayal of how wonderful Helen feels when in the sway of her addiciton is somehow supposed to make this a beautiful movie. But all of the other vehicles of addicition make the addict feel just as wonderful at the time -- as the addiction takes control of their lives: that is precisely the nature of addiction, precisely what happens in this film. The addiction to astral projection is no different than any other form of addiction, no matter how beautiful the cinematography is.

A final note about astral travel and self-discovery, since these are the hooks for this movie for many potential viewers. If you really want to learn about self-discovery in other states of consciousness, then read Stanislav Grof's "The Adventure of Self-Discovery" or Michael Murphy's encyclopedic compendium "The Future of the Body." You'll feel a lot better about the quality of what you bought if you buy those instead of this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and Original
Review: How can you describe a movie that makes you laugh and cry, takes you to a world (the 60s) you never lived in, teaches you many things you never knew before and makes you feel wonderful about yourself and your life to boot? Whoops! I guess I just did. This is a deeply compelling and wonderful movie with extraordinary acting (Joanna Going is magnificent). I saw it on TMC and will be watching the schedule religiously so I don't miss it the next time it plays. P.S. Great 60s soundtrack (folk and some rock).

Rating:
Summary: It's one worth looking up
Review: I enjoyed this story about a woman with MS who uses her unique and rather puzzling gift for astral projection to escape her illness and her limited life as a 1950s housewife (or 1960s - I didn't catch the exact setting). Her husband really got on my nerves with his martyr attitude toward his ailing wife; he was so smug about how well he was taking the change in her while pushing her hard not to give in to her symptoms. Meanwhile, she keeps wanting to teach and her husband insists that she has plenty to do in the home. No wonder that with frustrations like that, she literally chooses to escape the world. Finally, at the end of the film, the information gets through to her husband that he can't keep forcing his wishes on her. The ending is truly moving and made me cry.

I find the astral projection angle puzzling, though. Little was actually explained about it - little was shown. There was no mention of how long she'd been doing it or why she could do it when others couldn't. When did she start it? It was like some scenes were missing. I suppose the angle works if you take astral projection as a metaphor for something she needed and used for escape. It's just such a darn unusual activity that the lack of background information puzzled me. Also, a student living at her house kept mocking her behind her back by saying "Psycho-somatic" whenever she acted a little bit odd. Were we supposed to think that maybe she was imagining everything? I feel much could've been made clearer. Still, I recommend the movie. It's okay to be asked to use your brain and interpret for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: A Mesmerizing and Thoughtful Love Story
Review: I stumbled upon this picture one afternoon and was instantly mesmerized by the subject of "astral travel" as presented in this movie. Who hasn't had the feeling after coming out of a deep dream state that we have "traveled" in our dreams? I couldn't believe the way the movie portrayed the other-worldly feeling of being out of one's body and circling the universe through the narration and acting of Joanna Going. She is magnetic, provacative, and credible not to mention very beautiful. This movie really hit on something that few dare to talk about but "feel" every night in their dreams-ASTRAL TRAVEL.
I highly recommend this movie and the other actors provide a wonderful pallet for this eerily real and lovely film. Check out Joanna Going in "Still Breathing" with Brendan Fraser-mesmerizing!

Rating:
Summary: Addiction to astral projection
Review: I stumbled upon this picture one afternoon and was instantly mesmerized by the subject of "astral travel" as presented in this movie. Who hasn't had the feeling after coming out of a deep dream state that we have "traveled" in our dreams? I couldn't believe the way the movie portrayed the other-worldly feeling of being out of one's body and circling the universe through the narration and acting of Joanna Going. She is magnetic, provacative, and credible not to mention very beautiful. This movie really hit on something that few dare to talk about but "feel" every night in their dreams-ASTRAL TRAVEL.
I highly recommend this movie and the other actors provide a wonderful pallet for this eerily real and lovely film. Check out Joanna Going in "Still Breathing" with Brendan Fraser-mesmerizing!

Rating:
Summary: A Mesmerizing and Thoughtful Love Story
Review: I stumbled upon this picture one afternoon and was instantly mesmerized by the subject of "astral travel" as presented in this movie. Who hasn't had the feeling after coming out of a deep dream state that we have "traveled" in our dreams? I couldn't believe the way the movie portrayed the other-worldly feeling of being out of one's body and circling the universe through the narration and acting of Joanna Going. She is magnetic, provacative, and credible not to mention very beautiful. This movie really hit on something that few dare to talk about but "feel" every night in their dreams-ASTRAL TRAVEL.
I highly recommend this movie and the other actors provide a wonderful pallet for this eerily real and lovely film. Check out Joanna Going in "Still Breathing" with Brendan Fraser-mesmerizing!

Rating:
Summary: Save you money for something better
Review: Quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. I would have walked out on it only I was in my living room. I hoped it would somehow redeem itself so I watched until the bitter end, and believe me, the end weas not bitter but a blessing.