Filmed in 1979 by Peter Brook. A classic
spiritual movie of G.I. Gurdjieff struggles beginning with his childhood until
his discovery of The Fourth Way, an ancient spiritual tradition that used sacred
movements as meditation. The story in this film is based on Gudjieff's book with
the same title, which is the second book of his trilogy: "All and
Everything".
During his long career, director Peter Brook has conducted a
wide range of theatrical experiments, pushing audiences and performers well
beyond their typical experience of theater, in an effort to achieve not a
temporary catharsis but a transcendent, transformative event. As the narrator of
THE MAHABHARATA says, "If you listen carefully, at the end, you'll be somebody
else."
This interest in transformation that has characterized the latter
part of Brook's career continues with this adaptation of the autobiography of
famed mystic G.I. Gurdjieff, which stars Dragan Maksimovic. Driven by a sense of
unwavering dedication to unraveling the meaning of human existence, he journeys
throughout the most unattainable areas of the East, encountering an array of
Hindu fakirs, Buddhist monks, whirling dervishes, and gurus of every stripe.
In search of enlightenment, he climbs the Himalayas, walks across the
desert on stilts, and uncovers evidence of an ancient order, guards of an arcane
wisdom. Most fascinating, perhaps, is the form of dance he created as a form of
meditation and later taught in the West. A film that may be best appreciated by
those already familiar with the work of Gurdjieff, MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN
features spectacular photography and a highly evocative score, incorporating
various indigenous musics.
