Mindwalk (1990)

A US politician visits his poet friend in Mont. St. Michael, France. While walking through the medieval island discussing their philosophies of life they happen upon Sonja, a scientist in ... See full summary »

Director:

Bernt Amadeus Capra

Writers:

Bernt Amadeus Capra (story), Floyd Byars (screenplay),

Stars:

Liv Ullmann, Sam Waterston, John Heard

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Liv Ullmann	...	Sonia Hoffman
Sam Waterston	...	Jack Edwards
John Heard	...	Thomas Harriman
Ione Skye	...	Kit Hoffman
Emmanuel Montes	...	Romain
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Boursin	...	Sacristan
Gabrielle Danchick	...	Tour Guide
Jeanne Van Phue	...	Tourist #1
Penny White	...	Tourist #2

Storyline

A US politician visits his poet friend in Mont. St. Michael, France. While walking through the medieval island discussing their philosophies of life they happen upon Sonja, a scientist in recluse, who joins in their conversation. The two men listen to the ideas of this brilliant woman and discuss how her ideas can work in their own politician and poet lives.

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Plot Keywords:

politician | poet | philosophy | scientist | ethics | 

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Taglines:

A film for passionate thinkers.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 1991 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Ponto de Mutação

Filming Locations:

Mont Saint-Michel, Manche, France

Box Office

Gross:

$774,048 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlas, Mindwalk

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Thomas Harriman (John Heard) recited almost the entire poem "Los Enigmas" by Pablo Neruda. The last part of it says: "I want to tell you the ocean knows this, that life in its jewel boxes is endless as the sand, impossible to count, pure, and among the blood-colored grapes time has made the petal hard and shiny, made the jellyfish full of light and untied its knot, letting its musical threads fall from a horn of plenty made of infinite mother-of-pearl. I am nothing but the empty net which has gone on ahead of human eyes, dead in those darknesses, of fingers accustomed to the triangle, longitudes on the timid globe of an orange. I walked around as you do, investigating the endless star, and in my net, during the night, I woke up naked, the only thing caught, a fish trapped inside the wind."

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Quotes

Jack: ...but to blame all this on a French philosopher who's been dead for 300 years, isn't that a little out of proportion? Maybe even a little eccentric?
Sonia: No. Not if I'm right.

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Connections

References The Terminator (1984)

User Reviews

Intellectually stimulating, not for the masses

Being an egghead of sorts and a student of so many philosophies, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie the first time I watched it, and each time after that. Sam Waterston, Liv Ullman, and John Heard star as 3 people who meet by chance while touring an island. They then spend the rest of the movie talking about various scientific and philosophical concepts. There are brief (and very wooden) appearances by Ione Skye as the daughter of Liv's character.

The topics they discuss are fairly heady, but despite the edgy nature of their topics, the discussion never becomes heated or even mildly animated. Others have made the perfectly valid point that the dialog is one-sided, and I completely agree. Topics of this kind of importance and scope demand a discussion with all viewpoints represented. Otherwise, it can't approach the real heart of the issue, and it spirals rapidly into intellectual propaganda. These are good topics and valid points; they deserve better treatment. Nonetheless, the movie was enlightening on some levels.

I you're going to watch it, don't watch it to be entertained or awed by an auteur's cinematic masterpiece (which this isn't); watch it to expand your mind. Pay no attention to the plot (thin as it is) or the acting (stiff and clumsy at times). Just open your mind to the ideas expressed, then think about it after the movie has ended, because the topics discussed can go so much farther. The movie falls a bit short in expressing them; you'll have to finish the journey yourself.