VIDEO > Honesty

For some people this video would be confronting. For others it is cathartic… Film by Mark Pellington – David Whyte essay – Music by Jeff Rona.

Mark Pellington’s words say it best:

“This film was made by me as an exercise in process, to explore my own progress and personal feelings towards loss, grief, and healing. Via this text. My instinct was to be very simple and direct and to understand these words, via catharsis. The conduit was human, the face. The unlying veneer, the carrier of instinct. The face. It evokes the range of emotional expression and human truth of strangers. They all listened to it one time and brought their own inner stories to you the viewer. For you to feel your own. David’s Whyte words inspired this all. Kudos to the cast, Michael Sanford casting, Jeff Rona’s music and Matt Roe’s wonderful images.”

* * *

Stay in touch via FREE MyGoldzone Newsletter > SUBSCRIBE NOW

* * *

© Goldzone Education. All rights reserved.

MOVIE > The Giver

Set in the year 2048, after a war, the community elders thought it was a good idea to remove all race, emotions and as many differences as possible.

Hmmmm… sounds like removing many of the very qualities that make us human!

Before watching this movie I had never heard of the book that it is based on… I was looking for a movie to watch one evening and stumbled on it in iTunes.

Filled with A-List actors this movie delivers. I totally loved it! My most profound takeaway is that no matter how well intentioned people are, in their “infinite wisdom” by removing what makes us human in order to make us “safer” they create a new set of horrors. This manifests as good people engaging in unspeakable acts without even realizing it.

This has me thinking about certain people and cultures that find emotions so difficult to handle that they suppress, cover up and deny them… in the end lacking feelings, perhaps most importantly lacking empathy for the suffering of others…

It is the full range of emotions from the depths of sadness to the highs of joy and ecstasy that has us being fully alive…

* * *

Stay in touch via FREE MyGoldzone Newsletter > SUBSCRIBE NOW

* * *

© Goldzone Education. All rights reserved.

Movie: Invictus

This is an incredible movie about leadership, inspiration, and unity.

Movie: The Pursuit of Happyness

This movie is a few years old now (2006), however, it is as awesome as ever!

Based on the true story of Chris Gardener (played by Will Smith) who goes through a series of soul-sickening failures and defeats, missed opportunities and screw ups.  He manages to not let anything stop him… to not complain and let any considerations get in his way… in the end, he succeeds. Wow, very inspiring.

Movie: Flash of Genius

This is an exceptional movie with an awesome cast.  “Flash of Genius” tells the story of one man whose fight to receive recognition for his ingenuity would come at a heavy price.  Nobody thought he could win.  He becomes obsessed with justice and the conviction that his life’s work be acknowledged by those who stood to benefit.

This movie is about standing up for yourself – even though you may be the only one who believes in you and your mission.  This movie is also about justice and the price you may have to pay to get it.

Movie: Different Coach from Most

Movie: Notes on a Scandal

This British movie is about deception, betrayal and delusion. Superb acting, however, if you watch this movie from an educational point-of-view you will learn a lot about how some people can be deluded and the lengths they can go to for their sinister purposes (in this case, possession).

The victim in this movie is seduced and manipulated through her weakness and the cost is oh-so-high!

Movie: Shattered Glass

This 2003 movie will leave you stunned by the number of lies and cover-ups that Stephen Glass engaged in during his career as a reporter. The film is based on real events and also captures the high-pressure world of national political journalism.

Stephen is likable, friendly and very polite. The ultimate co-worker who remembers everyone’s birthday knows how everyone takes their coffee and is so self-deprecatingly sweet that when things start unraveling you feel sorry for him. Despite his audacious lies and deceits, you like him and wonder why everyone is being so mean. Stephen walks the fine line between good and evil so well, you watch in amazement. You feel sorry for him, you’re repulsed by him, you’re embarrassed for him…

However, he fabricated over 20 stories, invented sources, locations, times, dates, and companies. Wow!

From an educational-point-of-view, this movie may highlight some of the people you know and work with and what can be behind those seemingly innocent smiles…

Movie: Doubt

Based on the Pulitzer Prize Winning Play, this 2008 movie is amazingly well-acted with quite the twist. Addressing the question of how far you should go to confront villains and perpetrators in order to protect the innocent, this movie is riveting and profoundly disturbing at the same time.

The confrontation is between the fierce and feisty head teacher (Meryl Streep) and the feminine and progressive head priest, Father Brendan Flynn (Phillip Seymor Hoffman), who is, in fact, a child-exploiting pedophile.

Full of hidden messages and dire warnings… worth more than one viewing…

Movie: Othello

Venice, 1570.  This movie is about jealousy, betrayal and the scheming manipulations of Iago… who is supposed to be a close friend and trusted advisor to Othello.

This 1995 film is an intense adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about the Moorish general who “loved not wisely, but too well” – and so is duped by his evil aide into thinking that his wife has been unfaithful. As war between Venetians and the Turks rages, Othello weds the beautiful Desdemona and promotes Cassio over his longtime assistant, Iago. Othello prepares to celebrate his marriage, but Iago – insanely jealous over Othello’s snub – has dastardly plans in store.

Iago begins to poison Othello’s mind against Desdemona, claiming that she’s having an affair with Cassio; he even manages to produce “proof” of the infidelity. It doesn’t take long for the jealous general to start believing Iago’s allegations, and he winds up on the path of destruction and gives into his “dark side” which is perhaps the most chilling aspect of the movie.

Very educational and will have you thinking twice about some people’s intentions and actions…

Dedicated to “3 Musketeers” (You Know Who You Are)