Mindwalk – a film by Bernt Capra

Arnold J. Toynbe said, "The most important thing we can do today is to get to know one another on a worldwide scale".  Herman Melville said, "We cannot live for ourselves alone.  Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us results."  Mindwalk — a film for passionate thinkers — seems to embrace both of these ideas.

In a recent experiment, physicist Alain Aspect discovered that subatomic particles can remain in communication with each other regardless of the distance between them, violating Einstein’s theory that no communication can travel faster than the speed of light. Some scientists believe that these particles remain in contact because their separateness is an illusion and that all matter is infinitely connected at a deeper level of reality. This organic approach to Systems Theory and the interconnectedness of all living things is the subject of the film Mindwalk by Bernt Capra. Based on the book The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra (The Tao of Physics), the film is a 90-minute conversation between a scientist, a politician, and a poet, each having taken a step back from their profession to ponder the direction of their life.

Set at the monastery of Mont St. Michel off the Normandy coast, the remoteness of the island provides a perfect background for reflection. Jack Edwards (Sam Waterston) is a US Senator and unsuccessful candidate for President. He has come to Mont St. Michel to meet with his friend and former speechwriter, poet Thomas Harrison (John Heard) to ask for help in his re-election bid. The two meet scientist Sonia Hoffman (Liv Ullman) who recently left her research job at a U.S. university protesting how her research was being used. Prodded by her daughter Kit (Ione Skye) to get out and meet people, she goes for a walk to the monastery and joins the others. Each character has a different outlook on life. Sonia strongly maintains that the mechanistic approach of Descartes is no longer relevant and should be replaced by a holistic system similar to that of Eastern mystics. Jack relates to concepts in terms of how they may appeal to voters. Thomas is a romantic who would rather dispense with both theoretical science and practical politics.

The three talk on subjects ranging from the destruction of the Amazon rainforest to the world of atoms and electrons but it never becomes tiresome because each challenges the other to see the world from a different perspective. The interchange takes place on a personal level as well and the result is a deeper understanding of each other’s life. Mindwalk will not appeal to those looking for a conventional narrative, as it takes a serious student of living systems to stay focused.  Yet this highly stimulating and often humorous film is uplifting and immensely thought-provoking.

Unfortunately, the film is difficult if not impossible to find on DVD.  It is available on videotape, though not readily.  Try Amazon.  Google Video posts the entire film, including Spanish subtitles.  Here it is. Suggestion: Watch from about 25 minutes into the film, for about 7 minutes, and you be able to get a good feel for the entire film. To navigate to 25 minutes into the film, first press PLAY (the right arrow), give it a moment to download and buffer the file, and then move the slider bar to the right and watch the minutes counter.