Spirituality: Movies to Watch

The planet, like every living being, has its own spirituality but most of society seems not to notice it at all. Each person but also each organization and each state has its own spiritual life, which has a fundamental impact on one’s personal growth. But the political and economic approach of those in power seems to take into account only the matter.

The policies of states around the world are a long series of failures. They seem designed specifically to sow fear and frustration. The twentieth century was the century with the most millions of deaths in the history of mankind. After a brief period of recovery in the post-war period, humanity has plunged back into greyness, this time disguised as democracy.

The true face of democracies seems to be only an awareness of the powerful that they can no longer exercise the dictatorship directly. A mask worn to avoid total rebellion and the failure of all the darkest policies. Wars, fanaticism, repression, discrimination and financial crack: there is something for everyone.

The opposite of spirituality: globalized materialism

The orientation of power and the media is to completely deny the existence of spirituality. TV, newspapers and politics do not deal with it at all, except for a few small columns on the last page. Theirs is an attitude of superiority towards something that seems not useful in solving the practical problems of society. Growing up in a purely materialistic lifestyle we try to satisfy only our material needs and we are unable to interpret our ailments.

Finance and economics seem to increasingly take away any possibility from individuals and small local organizations. Their idea is to impose few products and few guidelines on everyone with no choice. They all focus on the clash of civilizations between the West and Islam causing wars and conflicts one after another, while poverty is rampant in poor countries in the West other types of illness such as depression, unhappiness and the continuing fear of the economic crisis spread. But why does all this happen? Is the catastrophe really so global is it inevitable?

Why does this negative energy seem to possess the power of virtually every state on the planet? Materialism seeks to impose itself everywhere as the only reality: the spiritual forces that govern the destinies of the planet are not mentioned at all in the mainstream media. Television and newspapers offer a stream of news that seems to have been designed to plunge us into a kind of deep sleep.

The daily and obsessive repetition of tragic news, dramatic events and pessimism affects us every day. Through this obsessive repetition that continues over the decades and tells only the most tragic events of materialism, our spiritual energies are colored black. The audiovisual stunning of certain films full of special effects seems to be created precisely on the model of how the world is presented to us by the media: explosions, sensationalisms, tragedies one after another without the basis of any script.

This guide is a journey across the entire spectrum of the spiritual search. It is a path that unites the great masterpieces that defined the genre with the most profound independent visions. We will explore films that are meditations on life, death, connection, and consciousness—works that do not just tell, but aim to transform the viewer.

I Am Nothing

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Drama, thriller, by Fabio Del Greco, Italy, 2015.
The story revolves around Vasco, a Roman builder who, at the age of 74, enjoys a life of absolute comfort. His human parable takes a dramatic turn when a mysterious encounter leads him to an ambush. Having survived, but marked by a long coma, Vasco wakes up with a new sensitivity, developing an intimate and poetic bond with nature. This new relationship with the world around him leads him to deeply explore himself, in an internal and external journey. through Italy, the United States and India, in search of a higher meaning and a cure. In parallel, the threat of a planetary cataclysm adds an epic dimension to the story.

I Am Nothing explores universal themes such as time, memory, oblivion and the connection with nature. Fabio Del Greco creates an existential drama full of food for thought. The director skillfully combines different visual materials, mixing archive images with nature photographs and dreamlike visions. This visual experimentation translates into an editing that captures the viewer's attention, guiding him through a cycle of creation and destruction. The sequences that alternate the buildings, Vasco's pride, with Indian landfills and natural landscapes create a hypnotic rhythm, underlining the beauty and fragility of life. Vasco's existential journey is a hymn to transformation and rebirth. The evolution of the protagonist, from unbridled luxury to the rediscovery of purity, represents a powerful metaphor on the meaning of life and the need to reconnect with authentic values. Io sono nulla stands out for its ability to combine introspection and visual experimentation, offering a suggestive and engaging narration. It is a film that invites us to reflect on the human condition, on our relationship with power and nature, and on the possibility of finding ourselves through change. A work that leaves its mark and lends itself to multiple readings.

LANGUAGE: Italian
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese

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Presence (2025)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, this film employs innovative cinematography to explore modern spirituality and non-religious feminine spiritual expression. The story utilizes unconventional camera work that positions viewers as ghostly observers, creating a sense of intimate omniscience as it follows a family moving into a house inhabited by a mysterious presence.

The film redefines cinematic spirituality by using technical innovation to externalize internal experiences. Its portrayal of contemporary feminine spirituality reflects evolving cultural approaches to transcendence, demonstrating how cinema can authentically capture non-traditional spiritual seeking with high artistic sophistication.

The Life of Chuck (2025)

Based on the short story by Stephen King and directed by Mike Flanagan, this narrative is told in reverse chronological order. It explores existential meaning through an unexpected spiritual lens, following the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz while the world outside appears to be slowly ending.

The film effectively bridges secular and spiritual sensibilities by asking fundamental questions about what constitutes a meaningful life without relying on explicit religious framing. Its creative structure mirrors a spiritual epiphany, revealing how simple acts of joy, dancing, and human connection constitute a spiritually significant existence.

Light of the World (2025)

This animated feature reimagines the life of Jesus through the eyes of a young shepherd boy, blending stunning visual artistry with profound spiritual themes. The narrative perspective offers viewers a unique pathway into understanding Christ’s teachings and redemptive mission by focusing on a child’s wonder and personal encounter with a divine presence.

The film exemplifies how animation can convey complex spiritual narratives accessibly to diverse audiences. By emphasizing themes of hope and salvation through visual storytelling rather than dry didactic exposition, it creates an intimate experience that highlights the transformative power of faith within a historical context.

The Sands

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Science fiction, by Noah Paganotto, Argentina, 2022.
In an undetermined location on planet Earth, in an unknown time, Zoilo lives with his family in a wasteland surrounded by ruins. They live uprooted, without mothers, knowing that pregnancy for women is synonymous with death. For them there is only one collective routine; keep the fire alive. Only Zoilo escapes this logic, observing, intrigued, details that others do not see and therefore do not appreciate. Zoilo's personal search for answers will increase the differences with his relatives, increasingly revealing an empty world of interiority.

Avant-garde film that burns slowly in the first part and then reveals in the second the profound conflicts of a family prisoner of archaic beliefs. It is a dystopian and visionary work, with wonderful photography and images of rare power that allow us to grasp the depth of the story and its poetic potential. The faces of the actors, especially the protagonist boy, are perfect. The Sands metaphorically represents the world we live in: an alienated society, where what keeps us alive is demonized and blamed for death. In opposition to the fast pace of the typical mainstream film, The Sands is a meditative journey into the depths of images. The film was shot in natural environments in the city of Necochea, Buenos Aires province, Argentina.

LANGUAGE: Spanish
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese

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The King of Kings (2025)

Retelling the life of Jesus with an ambitious scope, this retelling achieved significant box office success during its Easter weekend debut. The film explores biblical themes through a fresh cinematic perspective, focusing on the tension between the material world and the eternal kingdom of faith during a time of political upheaval.

As one of the year’s highest-grossing faith-based films, it demonstrates a growing audience appetite for biblical narratives presented with grand scale and authenticity. The production balances artistic ambition with meaningful spiritual exploration, signaling a resurgence in large-scale religious storytelling for modern cinema audiences.

Planetary (2015)

Planetary is a stunning visual exploration that asks viewers to rethink their relationship with themselves, others, and the world. The film weaves images of NASA’s Apollo missions with visions of the Milky Way, Himalayan monasteries, and the cacophony of modern urban centers like Tokyo and Manhattan to highlight the interdependency of all life.

The documentary features intimate interviews with astronauts, environmentalists, anthropologists, and spiritual leaders like the 17th Karmapa. It sheds light on how our worldview profoundly affects the planet, challenging the perspective of separation and calling for a shift toward a more conscious and integrated global identity.

Awake: The Life of Yogananda (2014)

This unconventional biography explores the life of Paramahansa Yogananda, the Hindu Swami who brought yoga and meditation to the West in the 1920s. By sharing his personal pursuit of enlightenment and his struggles on the path, the film makes ancient Vedic teachings accessible to a contemporary audience, illustrating his role in the modern spiritual revolution.

Shot over three years across 30 countries, the documentary examines why millions of people today have turned their attention toward the inner world. It serves as an exploration of the seeking for self-realization, contrasting the mundane demands of the modern world with the timeless search for a connection to the transcendent.

Ugetsu

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Drama, fantasy, by Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1953.
Japan, late 16th century: the potter Genjurō and his brother Tobei live with their wives Miyagi and Ohama in a village in the Omi region; Genjurō, convinced that he can earn a lot of money by selling his goods in the nearby city, goes to the county of Omizo with Tobei, who joins him with the sole purpose of being able to become a samurai. Back home with a good income, the two work hard to make even more money; Tobei, increasingly obsessed with the ambition of becoming a samurai, needs the money to buy an armor and a spear while Genjurō, overcome by greed, tries to cook a batch of crockery with his brother in just one night. Legend and innovation of cinematic language, a wonderful world next to a brutal and cruel world. Mystery film that opens a discourse with the invisible planes of existence, ghosts and forays into the fantastic, made by Kenji Mizoguchi in a Japan still frozen by the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fundamental work by Mizoguchi, recognized as one of the greatest expressions of the Seventh Art. A lofty lesson in directing that creates wonder with a dramatic tale of greed and lust for possession. A woman who is a tempting demon and a wife abandoned to a fate of war and misery, Mizoguchi uses the camera to enter "another world".

Food for thought
According to ancient Eastern traditions there are other non-physical planes beyond the physical plane. The etheric plane envelops the physical body, gives it vital energy and acts as an intermediary with the higher levels. Beyond the etheric plane there is the astral plane where entities may exist that have not been able to resign themselves to the loss of their body and wander in search of sensations. They are what are commonly referred to as "ghosts". These entities are looking for bodies that have unbalanced etheric planes to "hook up" to in order to experience sense satisfaction through them.

LANGUAGE: Japanese
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese

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I Origins (2014)

Molecular biologist Ian Gray is a scientist studying the evolution of the eye to disprove the notion of “intelligent design.” However, a chance encounter with a mysterious woman and a subsequent tragedy lead him to discover evidence that challenges his rationalist worldview. His research takes him to India, where scientific data begins to overlap with the spiritual concept of reincarnation.

The film explores the friction between science and faith through the lens of mystical synchronicity and the uniqueness of the human iris. It ultimately suggests that the pursuit of truth requires a balance between empirical evidence and an openness to the unexplainable, proposing that some connections may transcend biological death.

Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds (2012)

This documentary proposes that there is a single vibratory field that connects all things, often referred to as Akasha, the music of the spheres, or the Higgs field. It explores the common link between ancient religions and modern science, suggesting that our inner spiritual state is inextricably linked to the outer physical world.

Through a series of meditative visuals and explanations of sacred geometry, the film serves as a bridge between diverse spiritual traditions. It invites viewers to move beyond the illusion of the ego and the material world to experience the underlying unity of the universe, focusing on the concept of the “primordial OM” as the source of all creation.

Samsara (2011)

Filmed over five years in 25 countries, Samsara is a non-verbal guided meditation that captures the wonders of our world from the mundane to the transcendent. Shot on 70mm film, it expands on the themes of its predecessor, Baraka, exploring the incomprehensible limits of human spirituality and the cyclical nature of the human experience.

The film functions as a travelogue of the soul, juxtaposing natural wonders with industrial landscapes and sacred rituals. By removing dialogue and traditional narrative, it allows the viewer to experience a purely visceral connection to the global human condition, emphasizing the interconnectedness of life, death, and rebirth.

The Holy Mountain

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Sci-fi, drama, by Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973, Mexico.
A man, nicknamed The thief, who represents the Fool's card in the Tarot, lies unconscious in a desert, among swarms of flies. When he wakes up he encounters a footless and handless dwarf representing the Five of Swords. The two become friends and go to the nearest town where they earn money by entertaining tourists. The thief resembles Jesus Christ, and after a quarrel with a priest, he eats the face of a wax statue of Christ, symbolically eating his body and offering "himself" to Heaven. After many misadventures he arrives at the top of a tower which is the laboratory of a mysterious alchemist. Participating in various initiation rites, the alchemist introduces him to the seven most powerful people on Earth, who work in the industries of welfare, weapons, art, entertainment, law enforcement, construction and the economy. Together they will have to reach the Sacred Mountain, a legendary mountain on a nonexistent island, where there are nine sages who know the secret of immortality. Their aim is to eliminate them and take their place.

Food for thought
In India they call the reality of the world around us Maya, which means illusion. The truth is hidden: it's like a movie screen on which you project your dreams and desires. Physicists have investigated what matter is and have come to the conclusion that it does not exist. So what is the matter of things made of? It is only condensed energy, which vibrates at very high speed, appearance. At a deep level, matter does not exist.

LANGUAGE: English
SUBTITLES: Spanish, French, German, Portuguese

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Finding Joe (2011)

Finding Joe offers an in-depth introduction to the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell and his concept of the “Hero’s Journey.” The film features interviews with 20 enthusiasts and experts who discuss how Campbell’s research into universal myths provides a roadmap for personal transformation and finding one’s true purpose.

The documentary uses storytelling and anecdotes to explain the standard theory behind all mythological narratives. It encourages viewers to “follow their bliss” and see their own lives as an epic quest, illustrating that the archetypes found in ancient legends are still vital tools for navigating the challenges of the modern world.

Happy (2011)

Directed by Roko Belic, this documentary investigates the essence of human happiness by visiting 14 different countries. It weaves together personal stories from people of all walks of life—from a Brazilian surfer to a rickshaw driver in Kolkata—with the latest findings in the field of positive psychology and neuroscience.

The film was inspired by the idea that despite the wealth of modern nations, many people remain unfulfilled. It explores the habits and social connections that truly contribute to a sense of well-being, suggesting that community, altruism, and a sense of purpose are more vital to happiness than material success or consumerism.

Surviving Progress (2011)

Inspired by Ronald Wright’s book A Short History of Progress, this documentary examines the concept of “progress traps”—advancements that eventually lead to societal collapse. Through interviews with intellectuals and activists, the film argues that current global economic methods lack a moral foundation and lead to the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.

The film’s underlying message is that our modern financial developments have become disconnected from the reality of the biosphere. It challenges the assumption that infinite growth is possible on a finite planet, calling for a radical rethinking of our social and economic goals to avoid a future population collapse and ensure the survival of civilization.

Life in a Day (2011)

This crowd-sourced documentary is composed of a series of videos selected from 80,000 clips submitted by YouTube users worldwide. All the footage was recorded on a single day, July 24, 2010, resulting in a 94-minute tapestry of the human experience across 192 countries, ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary.

The project highlights the diversity and commonality of life on Earth, showing people as they celebrate, mourn, work, and dream. It serves as a time capsule of the early 21st century, demonstrating how technology can be used to create a collective narrative that emphasizes our shared humanity despite vast cultural and geographic distances.

Home

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Documentary, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, France, 2009.
Spectacular documentary on environment and climate change with the narration voice of Glenn Close, produced by Luc Besson, Home shows us the exploitation of natural resources, lifestyles and destructive habits of man and the repercussions on the climate, investigating in a fascinating way the links between the planet and all living being. Shot in over eighteen months of time, the film is composed almost entirely of aerial shots taken in over fifty countries around the world.

LANGUAGE: english
SUBTITLES: italian

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I Am (2010)

After a life-threatening bicycle accident in 2007, Hollywood director Tom Shadyac embarked on a journey to answer two fundamental questions: “What’s wrong with the world?” and “What can we do about it?” The film uncovers his shift from a materialistic lifestyle to one focused on the nature of humanity and the power of human connection.

The documentary stands in contrast to Shadyac’s earlier comedic works, presenting interviews with scientists and spiritual leaders. It argues that cooperation and empathy are more fundamental to the human species than competition and greed, proposing that the solution to global problems begins with a change in individual consciousness and a return to community values.

Kymatica (2009)

Kymatica is an investigative documentary that challenges the idea of a controlling elite or external force leading the planet to destruction. Instead, it argues that the crises we face are a direct reflection of our own internal state and collective consciousness, suggesting that the “apocalypse” is a psychological event we are causing ourselves.

The film urges viewers to stop panicking about global tyranny and instead pay attention to the messages the world is sending about our inner lives. It proposes that by resolving our own internal conflicts and ego-driven behaviors, we can fix the external world, framing self-responsibility as the ultimate tool for global transformation.

Tuning In (2008)

Tuning In explores the phenomenon of spirit channeling, where individuals in a trance state claim to establish a psychic bond with non-physical spiritual beings. The film features six of America’s most prominent channelers, providing a look at the information and messages they bring through from these purported entities.

The director interviews the “entities” themselves, each of whom displays a distinct and strong personality. Despite coming through different people, the messages convey a consistent theme of human empowerment and spiritual evolution. The film offers a fascinating look at the boundaries of consciousness and the possibility of multidimensional communication.

Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008)

The sequel to Zeitgeist: The Movie, this film suggests that modern culture is being manipulated into a form of economic slavery through debt-based financial systems. It argues that the current monetary structure requires the majority of the population to work indefinitely to pay off unpayable debts, benefiting a small financial elite.

Narrated by Peter Joseph and featuring excerpts from Jiddu Krishnamurti, the film is divided into four parts that critique the status quo and propose a transition to a resource-based economy. It calls for social change through the application of the scientific method to social problems, aiming to move humanity beyond the limitations of war, poverty, and corruption.

The Dhamma Brothers (2008)

Set in a maximum-security prison in Alabama, this documentary follows a group of inmates as they participate in an intensive Vipassana meditation retreat. Known for its high rates of violence, the prison becomes the site of an extraordinary experiment in spiritual rehabilitation, based on the Dhamma and the ancient teachings of the Buddha.

The film captures the profound transformation of the participating inmates, showing how silence and introspection can reach even those in the most damaging environments. It raises important questions about the nature of justice and the possibility of redemption, demonstrating the power of meditation to heal deep-seated trauma and reduce recidivism in the criminal justice system.

The Kempinsky Method

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Drama, by Federico Salsano, Italy 2020.
The introspective imaginary road movie of a man in the maze of his own mind, his memories of his youth, his never dormant passions and contradictory truths. The road is made of water, the destination is falsely unknown. His traveling companions are three mysterious men, projections of his imagination and of different aspects of his personality: the perennial melancholy, the crazy creative, the introverted child. He is also followed by a female presence that tells the umpteenth human story. At a certain point of the crossing he decides to abandon the boat and his ghosts of him diving into the sea and arrives swimming on a deserted beach, naked, with a small Pinocchio puppet closed by a padlock.

In this splendid film life is like a long sea voyage and the human being is a small creature confronting immensity. Sometimes the ocean is calm, other times there are terrible storms. Sometimes we are captains of a boat with a well-defined route, other times we are shipwrecked in search of a land in which to save ourselves. But despite the long journey and the movement in physical space, there are other questions that resonate in the mind: who are these men I travel with? What is the mystery of this immense mass of water that seems to be made of my memories? You can circumnavigate the whole world but the main question always remains the same: who am I really?

LANGUAGE: italian
SUBTITLES: english, spanish, portuguese, german, french

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The Fountain (2006)

Darren Aronofsky‘s triptych spans one thousand years, following a man’s struggle to save the woman he loves from death. The narrative weaves through three timelines: a 16th-century conquistador searching for the Tree of Life, a modern-day surgeon seeking a cure for his wife’s cancer, and a future space traveler meditating on the nature of existence within a golden nebula.

The film is a visual poem about the acceptance of mortality and the eternal nature of love. By portraying death as an act of creation and rebirth, it challenges the Western view of mortality as an enemy. Its lush visuals and haunting score create an immersive experience that explores the spiritual journey toward enlightenment through grief and letting go.

I Heart Huckabees (2004)

Self-described as an “existential comedy,” this film follows a pair of “existential detectives” who are hired to investigate the meaning of their clients’ lives. The plot centers on Albert Markovski, an environmental activist who becomes embroiled in a rivalry with a corporate executive, leading to a series of philosophical debates and absurdist encounters.

The movie explores competing worldviews, ranging from the idea that everything is interconnected to the nihilistic belief that existence is meaningless. It uses satire to deconstruct identity and consumer culture, suggesting that the search for meaning is often messy and contradictory. It is a unique cinematic attempt to turn complex philosophical questions into a fast-paced, humorous narrative.

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring (2003)

Set on a floating monastery in a wild Korean landscape, this film follows a Buddhist monk through the stages of his life. A young boy matures under the guidance of an elderly teacher, experiencing the distractions of sexual desire, the pain of the modern world, and an eventual return to the master in search of redemption and reconciliation with his karma.

The film’s cyclical structure reflects the Buddhist understanding of existence and the seasons of human experience. Through minimal dialogue and breathtaking nature, director Kim Ki-duk creates a meditative experience that explores themes of wisdom, compassion, and the inevitability of suffering. It is a profound visual reflection on the nature of spiritual growth and the possibility of renewal.

Dark City (1998)

John Murdoch awakens in a hotel with amnesia, only to discover he is a suspect in a series of murders. He soon realizes that the city is being manipulated by “the Strangers,” a group of pale, telekinetic beings who stop time every midnight to rearrange the city and the memories of its inhabitants in a search for the human soul.

This sci-fi noir explores the definition of humanity and the nature of memory. Murdoch’s discovery that he possesses “attunement”—the same psychokinetic power as the Strangers—becomes a metaphor for the awakening of human consciousness. The film ultimately suggests that our identity is not merely a collection of past experiences, but something inherent that transcends environmental manipulation.

Baraka (1992)

Baraka is a non-verbal documentary that captures the essence of life and human activity across 24 countries. Using slow motion and time-lapse photography, the film explores natural events and spiritual rituals, from the tranquility of remote landscapes to the chaotic energy of modern urban centers. The title itself refers to the Sufi concept of “blessing” or “breath.”

As a sequel to the strategies used in Koyaanisqatsi, the film is a technical marvel shot on 70mm. It functions as a global meditation on the state of our world, highlighting the beauty of ancient traditions and the destructive nature of industrialization. It invites the audience to observe the world without the filter of language, fostering a direct emotional and spiritual connection to the global community.

Mystery of an Employee

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Drama, thriller, by Fabio Del Greco, Italy, 2019.
Someone wants to control the life of the employee Giuseppe Russo: the products he buys, his political and religious faith, his private life, even his dreams. But he will do anything to escape control and find his true self. Giuseppe is a man of around 45, married, with a stable job and a home of his own. His life flows seemingly peacefully when he meets a mysterious tramp who gives him some old VHS video cassettes. Giuseppe begins to see video tapes in which he is filmed in some moments of his life since he was a child, then as a teenager and as a young man. Who shot those videos that he remembers nothing about? Giuseppe has the strange sensation of being constantly observed and begins to investigate what is happening. Through his investigation of him, he begins to rediscover his true identity and become aware of who he truly is.

Employee's Mystery is a film that highlights the danger of social control and shows a society where everyone is constantly monitored and conditioned in their deepest selves. The film is also an analysis of human nature and identity. Fabio Del Greco, who plays Giuseppe, gives an engaging performance. Equally good is Chiara Pavoni, in the role of Giada Rubin and Roberto Pensa in the role of the tramp. Employee's Mystery is a film that addresses important themes in an original way, a psychological thriller that keeps the viewer glued to the screen until the end: a metaphor for contemporary society, in which people are increasingly monitored and conditioned by the media and technologies . It is a courageous and provocative work, which addresses important themes in an original way.

LANGUAGE: Italian
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese

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Other insights on spirituality

Here are some food for thought to deepen some themes related to spirituality.

The matter and the randomness of events

The dominant culture imposes on us the philosophy of chance right from school. There is no specific purpose or design for our lives. The events that happen one after the other are just fortuitous happenings, unrelated actions, anarchic forces of nature operating without a specific purpose. The characters of a person, a family, a place are random, as are wars, accidents, gambling or migratory flows.

The reaction of many to this lack of meaning is to take as much stuff for themselves as possible, accumulate wealth for themselves and build walls to defend themselves from the outside. Earn everything there is to earn by any means by cheating on others. Throw yourself into the competition and come out victorious, without any ethics. It happened in high finance to Martin Scorsese‘s wolves of Wall street and in many other sectors. With this philosophy of life the disasters are amplified more and more, and you never see the light at the end of the tunnel.

All this makes us slaves to a meaningless life. Spirituality is what it takes to become free: to understand the universe in which we find ourselves, what is its meaning and what our true goals may be. How can we focus our thoughts, our actions, our feelings in a context where everything has meaning? How can we have a clear idea of ​​what goals are worth pursuing?

If up to a certain point in our life we have had the impression of committing only mistakes that we must then laboriously remedy, a spiritual approach can offer us a clearer vision of what is really important. It is necessary to go beyond looking at the flat surface of things and become aware that there are many dimensions and connections that are behind appearances.

Spirituality and its channels

Scientists who believe in the analysis of matter argue that to analyze something you have to select it in smaller and smaller units. But what happens in the end when we arrive at something infinitely small and no longer analysable? It happens that that thing disappears, it no longer exists. We discover that deep down it is only energy. We have the intuition that matter comes from somewhere else, from another dimension.

With a spiritual approach it becomes possible to give an answer to the infinitely small, to those particles that seem to come out of nowhere. Spirituality is precisely the tool to get in touch with this dimension. It is the same dimension of our thinking in the noblest and most positive form. Thought is a frequent visitor to the spiritual worlds where all that is matter is designed and created.

Beginning to understand that everything that comes outside is born in the inner world and that collective and social events also originate from the spiritual world, then the perspective changes sharply. Every now and then we are faced with strange intuitions. Coincidences, moments of light, new understandings that give us the suspicion that material life is not everything.

Someone ignores these signs and forgets them soon after. Someone else starts looking for new ones and following their directions. The spiritual life has been experiencing unprecedented growth in many countries of the world in recent years. A large part of humanity is no longer willing to believe the lies of materialism.

The truth is that every event in life should not be interpreted only through matter. Malaise, pain or illness should be interpreted from a spiritual perspective, because that is where the causes come from. A lot of people are beginning to understand that it is the soul that drives the events of the material world and that many problems can be solved at the root only by looking into the spiritual world.

The world of spirituality affects matter

There are spiritual therapists able to identify the true causes of a disease in the spiritual aura that blinds every human being, through the Chakras, the points of our body connected to spiritual energy. When the chakra is suffocated or absorbs negative energy this dysfunction manifests itself in the physical body as a disease.

By recognizing the spiritual causes it is possible to eradicate the disease at its root. But Western medicine deals little or nothing with these methods. In this area too, the approach is almost exclusively materialistic. The piece of the diseased body is identified and tried to cure it. If the diagnosis is serious, an attempt is made to completely replace it with a new piece. But efforts to recognize the spiritual roots of a disease and treat it with this approach are a practice recognized only in the East.

The spiritual energy within us works through its connecting channels to the physical body. By blocking these channels it is possible to obtain a weakening of the individual and his total inability to react to certain situations. Negative powers systematically use their knowledge of the spirit world to achieve certain effects. The invisible spiritual world not only directs individual existences, but also those of territories, cities and nations. The individual soul becomes a collective soul in social organizations at every level.

The growth of spirituality today

For about twenty years there has been an explosion of interest in spiritual themes which is being expressed in various forms. New Age, yoga, books, seminars, meditation. A great awakening of consciousness is taking place all over the world. The more dramatic and violent the theater of media and power becomes, the more a growing number of people decide to say enough is enough.

The wrong reaction to materialism is that every now and then someone decides to make a radical change, and goes to a cave on a mountain to be an ascetic. Or he leaves his family to volunteer in Africa. And there, far from everything, he ends up drying up his heart. It is not by moving away from one’s work, one’s family and one’s daily life that one obtains true contact with one’s own spirituality.

Instead, it is a question of making an inner change of starting to look at everyday life with different eyes. To act differently. The material world doesn’t have much meaning unless we look at it from a spiritual perspective. The best strategy is to stay in balance, between spirit and matter. Suddenly we realize that there is a general sense of things, that there is a positive plan and that we can create it in our everyday life, integrating our material and spiritual sides.

This perception spreads more and more on an individual level but not yet successful on a collective level. The inner life of each of us does not belong to any organized religion. Any religion we believe in can be of great help to us if our pursuit is individual. Spirituality is born and transformed in our inner world. External events can only act as a catalyst if we know how to interpret them.

Spirituality and cinema

The interesting fact is that cinema has allowed us to discover the unknown worlds of Eastern spirituality which for some time has also submerged the West like a great wave. We were finally able to see the images, faces and places of that distant spirituality we had only read about in books. As often happens, mainstream productions have treated the subject in the most superficial way possible, using clichés and ideas packaged for the mass audience.

But there are authors, filmmakers and documentary makers who explore the spiritual reality in more depth. There is a huge literature on the subject of spirituality that we can find in bookstores. But the cinema has dealt with it much less, preferring the big themes with which it is easier to find the necessary budget for production. Or by telling stories of spiritual leaders but they don’t have a direct impact on people’s need for spirituality.

Great filmmakers of the spirit

One of the most significant modern film on spirituality that have been made is Wim Wenders‘ Wings of Desire, a film that develops a fundamental concept of the invisible world: the connection between matter and spirit. What does it mean to be an angel and witness the suffering of men, hoping that they can get away with it? How terrible is it to witness the victory of evil helpless? And how attractive is it to go back to living in that world of senses and passions for an angel? According to Wenders, our guardian angels look at us lovingly and cheer for us, but they do not intervene: it is our responsibility to make a qualitative leap and gain awareness.

The great cinema of spirituality certainly belongs to a large part of Bresson’s and Bergman’s filmography. The first is the author of a lean and essential style, a cinema with a strong religious component, Christian and Jansenist, in constant search of Grace. Its themes are the loss of innocence, rebellion against God, social destruction by man, loneliness that meets Evil. The second recounted the existential crisis of man in an exemplary way with films of love and death, tormented journeys in search of God. A philosophical and existentialist cinema, capable of awakening conscience, devoted to solitude and self-seeking.

In more recent times, some documentaries are also making a great contribution to the knowledge of spirituality. Films that transport us into the practices of Yoga or that introduce us to the Zen philosophy, shot with the intention of bringing this knowledge to the widest possible audience, with the possibility of applying these disciplines to everyday life.

It is the right time to use cinema to tell about spirituality in the right way, to create more awareness. There is no longer a need for stars or special effects to convince an audience that wants to know more in a more authentic way. Spirituality is the light that illuminates things and cinema is the art of light, and it is no coincidence that its inventors were called Lumière.