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Avatar the Movie
We have seen Avatar twice, in 3D both times. Now, we don’t usually go to theatres to see movies. We prefer to see them on DVD in the comfort of our own home. But, having seen the trailers for Avatar and an HBO “behind the scenes” special on the movies writer and director, James Cameron, we thought it might be worthwhile to go see this 2 hour and 40 minute film.
The action takes place in the year 2154 on Pandora, a moon of another planet populated by an amazing race of people called the Na’vi. The Na’vi are a huge people about 15 to 17 feet tall with huge yellow eyes and sparkling blue/green skin. They also have long tails and an amazing visceral relationship with their physical environment which is lush, colorful jungle of alien plant forms and formidable animal life.
We came away having been deeply moved by the whole experience. Not only is this movie a breakthrough achievement technologically, it is also a story filled with powerful metaphors and symbology that reach deep into the human psyche.
We found Avatar to be a profoundly spiritual story with themes of overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles, deep connection with the creative life force that animates all living things and the continuity of consciousness from one form to another.
It is about choices and the consequences of those choices on both a personal and collective scale. It is about life prevailing. It is about our lives and our times right here on planet Earth.
We were as moved the second time as the first, even more, actually. And when we say moved, we mean through the gamut of human emotion with an overriding sense of heartfelt hope and possibility for emerging from the multitude of crises we face on our own planet.
There are two versions of the movie with some theatres showing the 3D version as well as the regular version. If possible, see the 3D version.
You can go here to visit the official Avatar site and watch the trailer. Then, go see the movie, if you haven’t already.
January 1st, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I really cannot add much to what you have said. This is a profoundly movihg, deeply spiritual film. It is a metaphor for what is happeining on this planet right now. At the end of the movie, I wanted the movie to continue. Like the hero, I did not want to leave Pandora. I will see it again, this time on GIANT SCREEN imax 3D. And yes, seeing it in 3D is a must. Very well done.
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January 1st, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Just saw it last night. This is a very creative movie. A whole different planet has been conceived and created in breath taking 3D. Different plants, different animals all of which have some connection to each other in a more direct way then we experience today on Earth.
The natives of the planet who are living as the American Indians lived 300-400 years ago. The story line pits the natives against a space corporation that sees the planet only for it’s valuable mineral deposits. The corporation has all the Star Wars type weaponry. The natives have only their own version of horses and flying mounts along with spears, bows and arrows.
A very wonderful relationship forms and blossoms in the midst of this war. The characters are fully portrayed and mature in the movie.
If you have heard of the concept of Gaia, this movie wonderfully portrays how Gaia could be if lived fully.
I agree that the 3D version is worth the extra cost for the 3D glasses.
A very powerful film of greed versus culture and love.
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January 4th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Avatar was one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. I knew it had a spiritual underpinning, but I did not expect it to exquisitely portray the most core spiritual truths. I left deeply moved to the point that I cried a little on my way home. It represented the internal transformation I have been under the past two years since my divorce, including the emotional transformation of the main male character and the idea of living in a completely different world (but in my case it is moving to live in other countries that are more tropical and environmentally focused so that I will be surrounded by nature and continually connected to the earth and its inhabitants). I will see it again this week in 3D on the big screen and will most definitely own it when it comes out (which I hardly ever do!)
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January 4th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Thank you for this opportunity to share and for those who have shared so far, thank you. I ditto your comments.
I saw Avatar, first regular vision, then last night in 3D. It was great both ways. Of course, the visual was more sensual in 3D, but the story/symbology comes through clearly either way.
The first time I saw it, I was much attuned to the plight of our own indigenous peoples, indigenous peoples of the world. I was also attuned to our culture of competition, greed, dismissing of others, intellectual pursuits beyond the heart sense and such (cultural attributes that also exist in me).
The second time, I was struck more deeply by a comment: “They killed their own mother (earth) now they want to destroy ours” something to that effect. This deeply affected me and stirred this question in me: What can we do to save Earth Mother and to communicate with others that we need them to help as well?
For one, I want to learn more of the ways and worldviews of Earth’s indigenous; Another thing is: I want to recognize the negatives in my own life/psyche and deal with them (talk about learning to love your enemy?) and then hopefully be able to persuade others to wake up as well.
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February 8th, 2010 at 1:52 am
Really? You liked it?! Avatar is a spiritual movie? I saw the trailer and was totally turned off by the thought of the military unloading foot soldiers with guns onto new planet. It just sickened me.
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Paul Cutright Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Hmmm, you only saw the trailer and made an assessment about the entire movie. Isn’t that kind of like a blind person who feels an elephant’s tail and decides because it’s long and thin that elephants are like snakes?
Unless you see the whole film you have no way of knowing.
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