In this article, we have collected spiritual movies that are directly or indirectly related to spiritual development, sacred knowledge, reflections on the true nature of man and his unlimited possibilities, and on the ways of self-discovery. These spiritual movies give the multidimensional perception of reality and the evolutionary development of mankind. These films expand consciousness and perception of the world, as well as stimulate the thought process.
Here they are 10 great spiritual movies to watch!
Top 10 Spiritual Movies
#1 Samsara, 2011
It is not a secret that civilization turns a human into a robot. This is basically the message of this movie.
Nature consists of an eternal stillness expressed through harmonious movement. All that modern man creates is the hustle and bustle of cities. Cows turned into mechanisms for the production of milk, people turned into machines for the production of unnecessary rubbish and garbage for putting on the outside and stuffing “inside”.
Religions do not unite people in the pursuit of heaven but kneel and twist them in a meaningless circle of biomass.
In the eternal cycle of our existence, Samsara appears as a mill, a wheel of zeroing and renewal of life.
This movie shows the other side of modern world “progress” and definitely makes you re-think your values!
#2 Kundun, 1997
This movie immerses us in the era of the last independent years of Tibet, the years when this state enjoyed its peace. The movie tells the story of the life of the 14th Dalai Lama, about his life path, choice and tragic fate, which he did not choose, but which overtook him when he was not ready.
For a deeper immersion into the culture and life of Tibet, the movie reveals the history of the ruler of this state, enlightening us in who the Dalai Lama is, how he is elected and what powers he has.
Evil, in the form of occupation by China, in 1951 happened gradually, but at the same time rapidly bit by bit destroying the culture of Tibet. And now the young wise Dalai Lama has to stand up for his country and his people in order to achieve peace. But what can he really do to save his country? He who has never seen evil and violence, who has lived in silence and enlightenment. What can he do against the powerful Communist China that oppresses everything on its path?
The movie is not so much about the history of Tibet but rather about what independence really is and what price should be paid for achieving it. And all this is the background for the disclosure of a strong, inflexible ruler who resists the invaders with all his strength.
#3 Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It, 2017
Don’t be afraid to watch this movie – it’s not campaigning for anything. After watching it, you will not be dragged into a sect, you will not have to pray, you will not be hypnotized! This is a movie about a person with a strong spirit, an open heart and a great purpose.
Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, gave the youth what the society could never give. He taught them to seek peace inside and to live without cruelty.
This movie shows how wonderful it is when you have a great mission and purpose in life. And when there is a goal to change the world for the better, then the right people will always find you.
If you remember history, there were many other peaceful revolutionaries. If we talk about religion, Jesus was one of them too. So this movie is about history, about inspiration, about the power of the human spirit, about the purity of the heart, but NOT about religion.
#4 Zen, 2009
This movie will immerse you in the atmosphere of the XIII century when a monk Dogen Zenji from Japan goes to China in search of spirituality and true Buddhism. On the way of the main character, there is a monk who teaches the subtleties of meditation — the leading method of enlightenment. Having returned home, Dogen Zenji does not lose faith in the ideas rooted in him and begins to convey to the people the knowledge about Zen.
“Zen” literally allows you to explore the inside of the transformation of a man during meditation. This movie has a great educational value because it reveals the true meaning of Zen Buddhism, which, unlike other spiritual schools, pays great attention to the understanding of reality and self-awareness.
The movie quite clearly conveys the essence of Zen, its difference from other schools of Buddhism and the lack of dogmas, rules and blind copying of meaningless traditions.
#5 Little Buddha, 1993
After the death of Lama Dorje, Tibet Buddhist monks begin to look around the world for children, which embodied the soul of the deceased. They find an American boy, Jesse, and two Indians — Raju and Gita who became the object of reincarnation. In parallel, the movie shows us the legend of Prince Siddhartha, who once began his ascent to the heights of the spirit.
This movie is clear and interesting to watch for everyone. There is no need to look for subtext – all the basic ideas are at a glance. “Little Buddha” can elevate and give impetus to the development of any person.
#6 Ashes and Snow, 2005
This movie is a unique project of photographer Gregory Colbert. For 13 years he made 32 expeditions to the most remote corners of our planet. He was listening to the voices of the animals and found a common language with them. In his beautiful movie, Gregory Colbert shows us the world of animals and the world of people living on the same planet as a whole.
We live in the heart of fuss. We are constantly in a hurry and never have enough time. Our pulse frantically measures the passing time, we suffocate, freeze, and constantly feel lonely. We get older, but we can not find the answer to the only important question: Why are we here?
This movie tells us: “Wherever you are at this moment, there is a place for love. There is love inside you. Sometimes it is very difficult to feel it, to find it, but nonetheless, it is there inside you. Don’t fuss, don’t rush. Give yourself time to feel the unity of the whole world. Everything is made up of everything, and nothing is permanent.
This movie is like a tuning fork for your heart. Dissolve into it, follow the elephants, soar with the birds, listen to the song of the desert. There is absolute infinite love inside each of us that makes us one. You have everything you need to be who you want to be.
#7 Powder, 1995
‘Powder’ is a strange nickname students give to their new classmate Jeremy. People are afraid of his unusual appearance, deathly pale skin, sizzling gaze penetrating into the heart of the interlocutor. But soon they realize that Powder has supernatural powers, and there are raging flames of incredible energy behind his cold appearance. So who is he – the mistake of nature or its crown, a new stage of human evolution?
We can say that “Powder” is a movie about one of the many angels sent to Earth to show people their life and essence from the inside and the way they really are. This movie is deeply spiritual, it touches on many different topics that remain a mystery for science, and which people call “miracles”.
People are amazing creatures. We invent a lot of different devices to penetrate deep into space, earth, ocean — and all this just to see something new and unknown. But quite otherwise we begin to behave if we see something unusual not in the unknown depths, but right next to us.
Teenagers are cruel, and adults also do not always differ in mercy. Many people are willing to do anything to become “not like everyone else” and shock society. But what is life like for a person who did not make a decision to stand out, but nevertheless is very unique and very different from everyone else?
This movie tells the story of a person with great potential, but at the same time rejected by society.
#8 Mr. Nobody, 2009
This is a movie about parallel realities and about how each of our steps creates many worlds where we continue to live, but we just play different roles. Only astral travelers know about the existence of these realities because they are able to penetrate into their own parallel lives.
Many people do not like this movie because it is very deep and powerful and people who have poor creative and mental abilities are likely not to see the deep meaning inherent in it.
At the end of this movie, we understand that all events occur simultaneously, and the fact that time seems to be stretched in space is just an illusion, a distortion that occurs in our head.
This movie makes you reevaluate your life, your actions, and your choices that you have to do almost every minute of your life.
This movie is for people who usually have deep thoughts about life, who can make unpredictable choices. After watching this movie it will not easily let you go. It stimulates lots of deep thoughts and self-analysis. And you start to understand that “anything is possible until a choice is made” on a deeper level.
#9 Mother! 2017
Have you often wondered how similar the physical laws of your body are to those outside your body? The blood is coursing through your veins like rivers on earth. How some microorganisms parasitize others. That all living things are made of cells. And that on the material level, the connection between a human being and the Earth that gave birth to him is inseparable.
Darren Aronofsky, the director of this film, is a talented pathologist of human perception of the world. In this movie, he tries to rudely cut down in our consciousness a new glance on the paradigm of morally-oriented Christian psychology. And more specifically – its importance on our planet.
Skillfully quoting Christian symbols and allegories, the Director dares to ask a question to God directly or rather, wants to charge Him: “Why? What did you start all this for?”
#10 Lucy, 2014
The main character in the performance of Scarlet Johansson, involuntarily becoming a drug courier, accidentally absorbs a huge amount of drugs. This substance is a hormone that is produced in a woman in the sixth week of pregnancy. As a result of an overdose, Lucy’s brain begins to work at 20 percent and more. She has the ability to move objects, read other people’s thoughts, control matter, and even travel through time.
This movie makes us wonder: “How would life change if we used 20% of our brain?”. And also gives us some answers:
- The first stage would be full self-control.
- On the second stage, we would get control over others. But this will require 40% of brainpower.
- The third stage would give us the management of the matter.
And at the very end of the movie, we discover the hypothesis of what would happen if we use the capabilities of our brain 100%.