There's a cluster of films that capture something about modern times -- maybe the "malaise" of the Jimmy Carter years, maybe also the spiritual yearning still in evidence today. Four of them are dreamy, quirky, low rent and thoughtful by Hollywood standards. They are also entertaining, interesting, memorable, and it's time to bring them forth again:
Wise Blood (1979, based on the 1952 Flannery O'Connor novel); Brave New World (1980, based on the 1932 Aldous Huxley novel); Guyana Tragedy (1980, based on the life of Jim Jones); and The Lathe of Heaven (1980, based on the 1971 novel by Ursula K. Le Guin).
The Lathe of Heaven revolves around George Orr, who seems to be crawling in ruins caused by an atomic war, slowly dying of radiation poisoning. He dreams his way back into life -- is he truly dreaming or is this really happening?
The plot thickens as he receives psychiatric treatment from Dr. William Haber for sleep disorders. Together they discover he can change reality through his dreams, and Haber tries to make "improvements" to the world, resulting in a series of unexpected twists.
If you could change three things in the world, what would they be? A Miss America contestant might say, "I want to bring peace to the world, end starvation and help old people."
Haber opts for trying to end racism, for one -- but when Orr dreams it away, he wakes up to find everyone has turned gray. And then there are the aliens, and the ice cream stands. And that stubborn apocalypse. What's going on?
Remember the Gypsy Curse: May you get exactly what you wish for.Dr. Haber: You know what they say, neurotics build castles in the sky, psychotics live in them.
Heather: Psychiatrists collect the rent.
Besides death, bills, trouble and taxes, what is reality?
Today's Rune: Fertility.
Happy Halloween Dreaming!
6 comments:
I love Ursula K. She's awesome. :)
Reality is a stick in the eye ... or a stent in the kidney.
Wow, Erik, this sounds great! I've never seen it...but I love Ursula K. LeGuin! She wrote one of my favorite short stories, "The New Atlantis." Very Cool!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!
We can not obtain to change the world, but we try making our part. Some small things that added, one by one, pra gives to make the difference. As they say: Dream that if only dreams, is only one dream. Dream that if dreams together, becomes reality. The reality can very be good, depends on the eyes that it sees. Excellent tips! Beijus
The movie was very cool - one of the rare good adaptations of a serious science fiction novel into film. Ursula LeGuin was always one of my favorite authors. She's also unique in that she advances a genuine Taoist viewpoint in her fiction - evident in The Lathe of Heaven and even more explicit in some of her other novels.
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