This article continues our Power of Film series, in which thoughtful viewers share their experiences of meeting God at the movies. (SPOILERS are possible in this series.)
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Thinking back through the movies that have been most memorable to me, I struggled to identify one that I would consider to be a spiritual experience. I thought of several movies in which I had a deeply emotional experience, such as Good Will Hunting, Lars and the Real Girl, and Patch Adams. However, those were not emotional experiences in which I necessarily felt more connected to God or seemed to have a transcendental quality. I did think aout these movies though as I read through Reel Spirituality, trying to identify ways in which they may represent a spiritual experience.
As I read, I was also reminded of the ways in which psychotherapy can often be a spiritual experience; there is mystical connection that can happen between the persons involved, which has a transcendental quality that causes time to be forgotten and involves the awareness that something beyond the individuals is present. I then remembered several years ago seeing the movie What Dreams May Come, and though looking back I realize that I did not fully comprehend the story, I know that I was deeply moved. So, I decided to watch it again and try to understand the mystical, spiritual experience I once had, as well as give opportunity for a new spiritual experience.
The film is about a man, Chris Neilson, who dies in a car accident and seeks to find his wife, Annie, in the afterlife. Chris and Annie are described as “soul mates,” who met, immediately fell in love, and shared a rather supernatural connection to one another. They married and had two children, both of whom were killed in a car accident four years before Chris’s death. Annie blamed herself for her children’s deaths, became suicidal and was admitted to a mental hospital. Chris came to recognize how he contributed to Annie’s depression and, out of his desire to help her, faced her with divorce and the decision to give up or keep living. This is portrayed as the moment that pulled Annie out of her depression, and became Chris and Annie’s “Double-D” anniversary. The car accident that killed Chris occurred on this anniversary date.
After Chris dies, he struggles to understand his afterlife, which exists as a painting he and Annie had created together. He also struggles to separate from Annie, haunting her until he realizes that he is only hurting her by holding on. He then is able to reconnect with his children in the afterlife. The last portion of the film revolves around Annie’s death by suicide, which places her in hell, and Chris’s attempt to save her and again pull her out of her hell.
The pain of loss expressed in this movie is heart wrenching. Watching it, all my beliefs about death and the afterlife were suspended as I was pulled into the emotional experiences of loss and desiring for Chris and Annie to once again be connected. In fact, I was not at all concerned with the theological implications of the film (i.e., the portrayal of heaven and hell, the idea of reincarnation, requirements for salvation), but was caught up in the psychological implications of what it means to lose what one loves and try to regain what was lost as well as regain one’s self. Moreover, the film is a beautiful portrayal of the essence of psychotherapy – of joining others in their pain.
At the end of the movie, Chris gives up on being able to bring Annie out of hell, but instead of leaving her, he joins her and succumbs to her reality. The following scene shows him waking up back in heaven, and Annie is with him. Chris is confused, thinking that he had failed in saving her. Annie tells him that he hadn’t been able to until he joined her. Salvation happens through the spiritual experience of joining people in their pain.
I do not think this is meant to be a literal statement of eternal salvation, but one of saving someone from whatever hell they are experiencing. I suppose one could make the parallel of Christ coming to our world and joining us, ultimately saving us from hell. However, reading such theology into the film actually detracts from the spiritual experience for me. I think the spirituality is in the transcendence that can happen when we join others in their pain; and I think that God is present in these times, even if we cannot clearly identify his presence.
Part of what contributes to the transcendental, spiritual quality of the film is the use of color and scenery. The opening scenes, where Chris and Annie meet, are filled with vibrant and beautiful colors, evoking a surreal feeling. Even the scene where Chris watches his children drive off for the last time feels a bit surreal, as the car disappears down a road lined with Jacaranda trees that paint the road in purple. The scenes of heaven are also filled with vibrant colors, adding to the surreal quality. This is all in stark contrast with the dullness in the shots of Annie and the darkness of the house. The use of colors and scenery help to portray the contrast between death and life.
I identify this film as a spiritual experience because of the emotions it evoked in me, and because it reminded me of the reasons I want to be a psychologist and the joys and pains that come with joining others in their hell. I also wonder if my first viewing of it was a spiritual encounter; I was emotionally pulled into the movie before I could fully understand it. Furthermore, I first saw the film as either a senior in high school or freshman in college, a time when I was beginning to feel God’s call on my life to be a psychologist. Although I did not have the language for it at the time, looking back I wonder how much of the emotional pull I felt was also God moving me toward the profession of psychology. Perhaps that is more speculation than anything, but either way I am now working toward becoming a psychologist, and this is a film I will likely return to when I need to remember what it means to help and to join with another in their heavens and hells.