The Prophecies of Celestine (film)

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Movie
German title The Celestine Prophecies
Original title The Celestine Prophecy
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2006
length 99 minutes
Rod
Director Armand Mastroianni
script James Redfield ,
Barnet Bain ,
Dan Gordon
production Barnet Bain,
Beverly J. Camhe ,
Terry Collis ,
James Redfield
music Nuno Malo
camera R. Michael Givens
cut Maysie Hoy ,
Scott Vickrey
occupation

The Prophecies of Celestine is an adventure film (with overlaid spiritual content) from 2006. It was based on the novel of the same name by James Redfield from 1993. The German premiere was on October 6, 2007 in Frankfurt.

Brief description

The film tells of the recently discharged history teacher John Woodson, how he learns from an acquaintance of a mysterious nine-part script that is currently waiting to be deciphered and interpreted under the title The Prophecies of Celestine in Peru . Sensing no evil, he stumbles directly into dangerous entanglements between representatives of the local church, state powers and other forces. At the same time, however, he also meets new, different people who are both physically helpful to him and gradually introduce him to the content of the individual prophecies and their very personal consequences. In the course of the eventful events it slowly becomes clear that John's path led him there fatefully.

content

John Woodson sees his life at a crossroads. He was fired from his position as a history teacher at the local high school. Now his future is no longer as clear as he always thought. Sober, disappointed and temporarily disoriented, he realizes: Something has to happen.

During this phase, John receives a call from his good friend Charlene, a journalist by trade, who is currently on a short stopover in town. They meet for dinner together and she says that she is on her way to Peru, where she wants to follow an extraordinary story. She also tells of attending a wonderful retreat called Viciente, which reminded her of John. In this facility, a dedicated group of people was busy studying special, ancient manuscripts, and they had met a priest there named Father Jose. The priest initiated them into the secrets of their work and told them that these scriptures contained a prophecy that was written before the birth of Christ and consisted of nine pieces of knowledge. It foresees that there would be a time when the violence and restlessness in the world would lead to a new awakening. This awakening would come from all religious traditions and lead to more humanity and deeper spirituality. It would lead to a reorientation in the cultures and people of the 21st century. And that time would be NOW. Charlene goes on to tell him that for some reason she feels that he should go to Peru to see for himself. At first he is cynical about such fairy tales, but is then amused when he later finds a travel brochure about Peru in his mailbox. He spontaneously calls a travel agency and books a place for the flight the next day.

On the plane he meets a professor who also knows about Father Jose and the said manuscripts. This professor is also involved in certifying the authenticity of these writings. Probably written in the 5th or 6th century BC, they were found in a wooden chest from the early 16th century. He tells John that he thinks someone from the early Franciscan Church buried it on the occasion of Pope Celestine V. Eight of the manuscripts have so far been discovered. The ninth is still missing.

The plane lands and they part ways. While John is still thinking back to the beautiful woman he saw at the airport, he is already checking into his hotel.

A little later he is about to stretch his legs while walking in the streets of Lima when he happens to meet father Jose. Their brief conversation is cut short when armed men appear out of nowhere. The priest orders John to leave, the men come closer. Robert Jensen, a senior agent, asks Father Jose where the Ninth Inscription Manuscript is. When John flees to get help, he sees a gun being pointed at the priest.

Accompanied by the professor, whom he met on the plane, he returns to the place of the argument. Not the slightest trace of an act of violence, only a beggar girl is sitting on the roadside. A little embarrassed, they look around and while they are still thinking about what to do, the professor is seized and carried off by agents in front of John's eyes.

Police sirens sound, and again as if by chance, John is brought to safety by a stranger. Wilson "Wil" James, Father Jose's guide, explains the gravity of the situation to him. He couldn't go back to the hotel and the American embassy wouldn't help him either; on the contrary, he had to accompany Wil to Viciente - the place Charlene had already mentioned. Speechless in view of the many coincidences on his journey, John agrees, but insists on learning more about the manuscripts and the knowledge they contain. Wil tries to explain to John that he is currently experiencing the manifestation of the first spiritual knowledge. She describes how people realize that certain events shape their lives and lead them in a certain direction. Nothing is meaningless. John is beginning to realize that every single step in his life has brought him right here, that it will make sense that he doesn't yet understand.

He sleeps restlessly on her trip to Viciente, his dreams are suddenly very real: pictures of a little girl and ruins of long-forgotten times strangely look familiar to him, as if there were his home or at least a familiar area. On their way, Wil and John come to a summit that offers a breathtaking panorama and bears a tremendous resemblance to John's dreams: the ruins of Celestine, the place where the first of the nine manuscripts were found. In the valley is the Mission built by Cardinal Sebastian. He is the highest-ranking church member in a country where state and church are struggling for rule and rebels are making the mountains unsafe.

The companions travel off the beaten track and soon reach the mystical oasis of Viciente. Here she welcomes Miguel and a good friend of Wil is introduced to John, her name: Julia. She tells them excitedly that the ninth finding was probably not recorded in one of the manuscripts. The realization would just come to them in a auspicious moment. And John just showed up at a moment like this. The former history teacher continues to explore the area around Viciente, while Julia is very clear that he is here to help. She asks him to learn the first insights as quickly as possible and thus to accept the synchronicity of the events that have brought him here. She is not the first to advise John to open up to higher awareness.

Meanwhile, John noticed Marjorie, the beautiful woman he had already seen at the Lima airport. She explains to him how a person's energy flow works and that John's has a controlling effect. In return, he has to stop trying to control others. Only then is it possible that his fate will come true in Viciente.

The peace in Viciente is not long-lasting: forced to flee, Julia and Marjorie take the manuscripts, but are separated from John and Wil. They find each other again in a roundabout way, only to end up in the crossfire of military and insurgent groups shortly afterwards. At the height of all despair and loneliness, when John sees himself separated from Wil and pursued by the military, the realization hits him like a blow: He has to open himself to the new perception and beauty described in the prophecy. And his fate is to find the ninth knowledge.

In the dramatic ending, John meets the girl from his dreams. She leads him and his friends back to the ruins of Celestine. Here the future of humanity is revealed to them in a flood of light and colors.

Characters

John Woodson

Disillusioned and at times disoriented, John Woodson faces a dramatic and decisive development in his life. Through a chain of coincidences, he finds himself on an adventure in Peru. There he goes in search of ancient manuscripts, the prophecies of Celestine. Reluctant and skeptical at first, John experiences a new awareness with every step, every encounter with a person.

Charlene

Charlene is a journalist and for the first time brings John closer to the story of exploring the prophecies of Celestine. She also knows father Jose. She is spiritually certain that John will soon be traveling there.

The professor

The professor is a chance travel acquaintance of John. He also knows Father Jose and knows how to report on the clerical framework in the context of the scriptures. After the disappearance of father Jose, he helps John to look again at the place where this happened. However, he is kidnapped by agents and disappears from John's vicinity.

Father Jose

Father Jose is very knowledgeable about the scriptures that contain the nine prophecies of Celestine and works on the team put together for them.

Wilson "Wil" James

Wil is Father Jose's guide, explains to John the gravity of the situation and leads him to Viciente. He also tries to explain the spiritual knowledge for John, shows him the ruins of Celestine and becomes a very good friend who frees John from many a predicament.

Marjorie

John sees Marjorie for the first time at Lima Airport, but it is only in Viciente that they get to know each other personally. She knows the secret of the flow of energy in humans and resists the controlling aura surrounding John. She explains to him that he must completely open up and stop seeking complete control. This is the only way to fulfill his fate.

Julia

The lovely Julia is a good friend of Will and is introduced to John in Viciente. She suspects that the ninth insight is by no means of a written nature, and that John probably carries it with him because he suddenly came to them at a promising moment.

Cardinal Sebastian

When John and Wil arrive at the ruins of Celestine, they see a mission in the valley. This was built by Cardinal Sebastian. He is the most senior church member in this country. He forbids the found manuscripts and has all copies destroyed because he sees the world threatened by the findings.

Father Sanchez

Father Sanchez is a kind priest who becomes an ally of John's. He accompanies him on the paths of the Andes and appears as a kind of mentor to John, who initiates him into the secrets of the knowledge.

Robert Jensen

Robert Jensen is introduced as the archaeologist and actual founder of the group that researched the contents of the manuscripts. It later becomes clear that he is acting as a high-ranking agent for the government.

Reviews

" The adventure film based on James Redfield's book propagates his esoteric ideas, which because of the amateurish [sic] implementation fails in every respect ", judges the lexicon of international films . On the occasion of a special screening, the Nürnberger Nachrichten wrote: “ In the film, the pale hero John learns these" lessons "from happily grinning colonial masters on a farm in Peru - captured in the aesthetics of a photo wallpaper from the 80s. "

At Rotten Tomatoes (as of April 2010) there was only one positive out of 23 reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle's film critic Mick LaSalle described the film as " clumsy - not just unconventional, but awkward ". In his 2006 Worst Movies List , Celestine came third.

media

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Prophecies of Celestine in the Lexicon of International Films
  2. ↑ Celestine should make you happy: special screening of a spiritual awakening film. In: Nürnberger Nachrichten. November 17, 2007.
  3. ↑ The Celestine Prophecy , Rotten Tomatoes , April 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ Mick LaSalle: Smarmy take on 'Celestine Prophecy' isn't very fulfilling. In: San Francisco Chronicle . April 21, 2006.
  5. ↑ Mick LaSalle: From Bad to Worst. In: San Francisco Chronicle. December 31, 2006.