Metaphysical, Alternative Healing and Spiritual Movies

Almost an Angel: (Near Death Experience) : Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski. Paul stars as a talented thief who thinks he is an Angel after being hit by a car when saving the life of a little girl. Possible Near Death Experience. A “one person CAN make a difference” kind of movie. Hilarious impersonations of Willie Nelson and Rod Stewart. Joy-filled comedy. Rated PG © 1990.

Along for the Ride: (Schizophrenia) Patrick Swayze, and Melanie Griffith. This is a great example of schizophrenia. Melanie gives up the baby that she and Patrick created (only she didn't tell him she was pregnant) and on the son's 21st birthday she decides to tie up loose ends with an interesting journey. If you know of anyone with this disorder, you'll understand what a great actress Melanie is. (c) 2001

Always: (After Death Communication). Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss and John Goodman. A romantic adventure of a legendary pilot with a passion for daredevil firefighting. After sacrificing himself to save Al, the ace pilot faces his most challenging mission: helping Holly move on with her life. Great cinematography. I love this movie because an old flame of mine and I used to fly his plane over to Libby, Montana every once in a while as they were filming this movie to see how things were progressing. On the way back back from taking my Montana State board exams we almost ran out of gas and had to make an emergency landing in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. When he asked me if I was scared, I told him no because I knew he didn’t want to die and that he would do his best. He never seemed to fill that tank of his to the top. It was really annoying. He died six months later of colon cancer. So, I think in some way this movie was meant for me as his way of helping me to let go of his memory and to help me move on with my life. I know now that he knew he was dying. Rated PG. © 1997.

As Good As It Gets: (Pets as Healers/ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Greg Kinnear. “A comedy that comes from the heart that goes for the throat.” Nicholson plays Melfin, an obsessive-compulsive novelist with Manhattan’s meanest mouth. But when his neighbor Simon is hospitalized, Melvin is forced to baby-sit Simon’ dog. And that unexpected act of kindness—along with waitress Carol Connelly—helps put Melvin back in the human race. (c) 1997.

Awakenings: (Coma/Cataplexy) Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams based on a true story of a maverick doctor and the patients whose lives he changes. Robin plays a shy research physician who uses an experimental drug to “awaken” the catatonic victims of a rare disease. This movie came at a time when I was working with a coma patient and was looking for answers and techniques on how to wake her up. It gave me hope (even though she chose to pass over 13 months later.) Rated PG © 1990.

Babe: (Animal Communication) The story of an unprejudiced heart and how it changed a valley forever. In the world of Hoggett’s farm, every creature has a preordained purpose until the orphaned piglet Babe arrives and turns everything upside down. Cared for by Fly, he soon thinks he, too, is a dog. Farmer Hoggett senses something special in Babe and, though everyone thinks he’s crazy, enters him in the national Sheepdog Championships. Just when the crowd is laughing loudest, the tall farmer and the short pig step into the arena to compete and everyone is in for a giant surprise. In the movie there is a mean cat who tried to get Babe into trouble. I had never seen the movie until recently. Dagney (my cat) was sleeping below the TV screen. When the cat in the movie really stepped over the line and caused one of the animals to get a death sentence, I turned to Michael and said, “Now, that is a MEAN cat!” At which point, Dagney got up, stretched up to the TV screen and patted Babe on the nose with her paw! You can’t tell me that animals don’t know what we’re talking about! Rated G. © 1995

Brother Sun, Sister Moon: (Saints/Spirituality) Graham Faulkner. Story of St. Francis of Assisi and how one person CAN make a difference. After coming back from war, and in a state of delirium He slowly recovers but after the illness there is not the Francesco that was known to everybody any longer. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he spends them on meadows, instead of drinking, he meditates the beauty of God's creatures. Once, he encounters a ruined little church. There, from the old cross, Christ changes his life forever. Francesco renounces the riches, his family and starts to rebuild the Church as "il Poverello - the poorest of the poor." Soon, he gathers many people who are willingly built into a powerful new Spiritual Temple. Will the kingly pope accept a new order of beggars and the poorest of the poor? (c) 1972. Some graphic scenes.

Calendar Girls: (Cancer) Helen Mirren, Julie WaltersLinda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton. They dropped everything for a good cause.” When twelve ordinary members of the Women’s Institute, a prim and proper local ladies’ club, decide they need to find a more compelling way to raise money for a cancer ward they step out of the ordinary and decide to go naked (artfully done behind the usual baked goods featured on the calendar.) Good story for those wanting to help others after experiencing the loss of someone through cancer. I also liked the Tai chi exercise class the women attended. Good introduction to this exercise. Rated PG. © 2003.

City of Angels: (Angels on Earth) Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. “She didn’t believe in angels until she fell in love with one.” Spellbinding romance of the biggest romance under the heavens. Cage is Seth, and angel who must decide if he’ll forsake his immortality and become human—on the chance that the woman of his dreams might love him. That woman is Maggie (Meg Ryan), a pragmatic heart surgeon who doesn’t believe in angels. . .until she meets Seth. Rated PG-13. © 1998.

First Do No Harm: (Epilepsy) (5* movie) Meryl Streep plays a mom who’s son has “incurable” epilepsy. When the hospital and doctors want him to try experimental drugs, Meryl researches alternative therapies on her own and decides to go elsewhere. Based on a true story. Very important for anyone who knows someone with epilepsy to watch. Introduction to the Ketogenic diet. I’ve used this type of dietary change and lots of cases with great success. (c) 1997 made for TV.

Just Like Heaven: (Out of Body Experience and Coma) (5* Movie) Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Heder. Reese Witherspoon stars in the spirited romantic comedy. When David (Ruffalo) rents his new apartment, the last thing he wants is company. Then Elizabeth (Witherspoon) show up, insisting the apartment is hers. . .until she disappears right before his eyes. He’s convinced she’s a spirit. She’s convinced she’s still alive. As they search for the truth of Elizabeth’s past, their relationship changes from resentment to romance. The penthouse garden is a must-see at the end of the movie. I want one. Rated PG-13. © 2005.

Mask: (Alternative ways to treat migraines) Cher, Eric Stolz, Laura Dern, Sam Elliot. This is the true story of Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a personable young man suffering from "lionitis," a fatal disease which causes hideous facial disfigurement. The son of freewheeling biker Rusty Dennis (Cher), Rocky is accepted without question by his mom's boyfriends and cycle buddies, but treated with pity, condescension, and disgust by much of the outside world. The local high school principal tries to get Rocky classified as brain-damaged so he won't have to enroll the boy in his school, but Rusty fights for her son's rights with the ferocity of a mother lioness. Rocky makes friends easily both at school and at summer camp. He also falls in love with Diana (Laura Dern), a blind girl who cannot see his deformed countenance and is entranced by the boy's kindness and compassion. Now that he's got his own life in order, Rocky sets about to wean his chronically depressed mother from her drug habit. (c) 2004.

Michael: (Angels on Earth) (5* Movie) Andie MacDowell, William Hurt and John Travolta. “He’s and angel, not a saint.” A tabloid magazine called The National Mirror interviews a woman who says she is living with an angel. Michael is grubby, magnetic and a babe magnet I this romantic comedy. While trying to get an exclusive interview with Michael they didn’t bargain for the joyous, life-affirming plan in mind for them. Miracle abound in this wonderful gem. I love it when Andie sings, “I Love Pie” in the restaurant. Rated PG. © 1996.

Off the Map: (About depression) Sam Elliott plays Charley, a man who has fallen into a deep depression in a small town in New Mexico. Valentina d’Angelis plays Bo Groden, his 11-year old eccentric girl who is living in the now and learning to work the systems of poverty as she satisfies her sweet tooth by writing candy companies claiming to have had problems with their products, which usually results in a box of fresh goodies. Her mother, Arlene (Joan Allen) holds the household together and exemplifies “for better or for worse” of her marriage vows. The Grodens get by through living within simple means, one day an Internal Revenue Agent appears at their door, wanting to know why the family hasn't paid income tax for several years -- and not believing there has been no appreciable income for so many years. Great ending. Nude gardening scene. Good sub plots, too. © 2003.

Patch Adams: (Laughter as Medicine) Based on a true story, Robin Williams plays a doctor who doesn’t look, act or think like any other doctor you’ve met before (kind of like myself!) He is willing to do just about anything (even using alternative medicine) to make his patients laugh. Yucky ending for kids. Makes a lasting impression. Loved the woman who got to fulfill her dream before she died with bathing in noodles. Rated PG. © 1997.

Pay it Forward: (Random Acts of Kindness and One Person CAN make a difference theme) Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment. “Is it possible for one idea to change the world?” We think so. Just imagine. You do a favor that really helps someone and tell him other not to pay it back, but to pay it forward to three other people who, in turn, each pay it forward to three more, etc. Junior high student Trevor McKinney (Haley) comes up with this chain reaction project of goodness for his social studies project. One of my favorite movies but the little boy dies in the end so you may want to have parental discretion. Rated PG-13 © ?

John Travolta observes a strange light on his birthday at a bar. The following days he becomes very intelligent and taps into the Akashic records to help his community. When word gets around he becomes known as a freak and everyone wants to figure out why this happened to a car mechanic. The government also wants to get their hands on it to put it to other uses.

Pollyanna: (Positive Mental Attitude/Law of Attraction) Jayne Wyman, Richard Egan, Karl Malden and Hayley Mills perform in this timeless Walt Disney tapestry of a small-town Americana. She brings sunshine into the lives of everyone she meets. When her missionary mom and dad die, she is shipped off to her aunt Polly’s house to be raised in upper-crust society. I absolutely adore this movie (maybe it was because my dad always called me a Pollyanna while I was growing up). I still am a Pollyanna to this day. Love the Glad Game and have made a rough draft of the Glad Passages the movie talks about. A must see if you are learning about the Law of Attraction. Rated G. © 1960.

Question of Faith: (Alternative Cancer Techniques) Anne Archer, Sam Neill © 1988, unrated. Anne plays a woman with cancer in this true story of a terminal cancer patient who rejects her doctors' pessimistic prognoses, gradually healing herself with macrobiotics, meditation, and good old- fashioned faith.

Serendipity: (Synchronicity) John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. “A Matchless Romantic Comedy.” Romantic comedy. If you don’t know what the word means and believe in destiny and love at first sight and the process of synchronicity, you need to watch this one. Love conquers all and is inevitable. We think it’s a 5* movie and watch it once a year around Christmas. Rated PG. ©

Sliding Doors: (Parallel Lives) This is a movie depicting the concept of parallel lives. It is a movie depicting two stories of what would happen with just one choice in our lives. Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) plays out one woman's destiny to "catch" and "not catch" the London commuter rail. Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) is in Public Relations. She's darn good at what she does, until she gets fired for taking 4 bottles of vodka (which she had replaced) which her upper crusty male coworkers claimed she stole -- a sneaky, low-down, dirty way of getting her out of the company because she was a woman who was too successful and her male counterparts were jealous. The first story is set. Helen catches the train by the skin of her teeth, meets a nice fellow by the name of James (John Hannah) who appears to have acquired a fancy for her, but Helen clearly makes it known she is involved with another man. The second story line develops as she goes home, and finds her partner, Gerry (John Lynch), in bed with his ex-girlfriend, Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). The story goes on from there with two endings. Very interesting movie, and quite the education on the metaphysical concept of parallel lives. (c) 1998.

Somewhere in Time: (Time Travel) Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. “He sacrificed life in the present. . .to find love in the past.” The story of a young writer who is approached by an elderly woman who gives him an antigue gold watch and who pleads with him to return in time with her. Christopher returns to1912 and the beautiful young woman who awaits him there. I love how they talk to each other through letters passed in the roll-top desk. Always wanted a roll-top desk after seeing this movie! Rated PG. © 2000.

The Green Mile: (Miracles, Hands On Healing, African Shamanism)Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan. Miracles happen in unexpected places, even in the death-row cellblock at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. There John Coffey (Duncan), a gentle giant of a prisoner with supernatural powers, brings a sense of spirit and humanity to his guards and fellow inmates. In African culture Shaman suck out the bad stuff, it transforms into flies, and they blow them out. This movie did an excellent job of showing this metaphysical healing practice. Parental Guidance (Coffey dies in the end). Great movie though. Rated R. © 1999 (and it’s 188 minutes long).

The Sixth Sense: (After Death Communication) Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment. “Not Every Gift is a Blessing.” Bruce plays a distinguished child psychologist who meets a frightened, confused 8-year-old boy who is haunted by ghosts which are really people who have passed over and just want to get information back to the living. Rated PG-13. © 1999.

The Third Miracle (Miracles and Sainthood) (4*) Metaphysical story of Catholic priest who investigates a story about a bleeding Mother Mary statue.

Uncorked: (Life Purpose) This family has Popped its cork. Rufus Sewell, Minnie Driver, Nigel Hawthorne. A delightful celebration of dreams and the unyielding spirit of individuality. See movie review in Newsletter Archives under Media Reviews. Love the guitar solo. Life purpose video. Rated PG ©2001.

What Dreams May Come: (After Death Communication). Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Annabella Sciorra. One of the most common ways people contact you after they have passed over is through dreams. The story of a supernatural journey beyond the realm of mortality in this visually stunning and unforgettable epic of how you are greeted on the other side by people and situations that you are mentally prepared for until you can accomplish the process of waking up and letting go. This one is a quest for everlasting love that takes Robin to hell and back. Some people actually experience hell-like adventures when they have a near-death experience, but these are rare so I didn’t think this was totally accurate, but a good movie anyway. Rated PG-13. © 1999.