Act of God (film)
Encyclopedia
Act of God is a 2009 Canadian documentary film
that investigates the "metaphysical" effects of being struck by lightning
. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes
) and distributed by Zeitgeist Films
. The film's world premier was at the 2009 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival at the Royal Ontario Museum
in Toronto
on 30 April 2009. It went on general release in Canada on 1 May 2009, and limited release in the United States on 31 July 2009. The film's European premiere was at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
in the Czech Republic
on 11 July 2009.
is a "random natural occurrence or a predestined event". The film contains seven stories in which Baichwal interviews people about their personal experiences with lightning strikes. She speaks to American novelist and screenwriter Paul Auster
, Canadian dramatist James O'Reilly, and U.S. Marine
veteran
and author Dannion Brinkley
. She also interviews a storm chaser
in France, and a group of Mexican mothers who accept the loss of their children to lightning at a religious festival as "God's will". She also investigates a Yoruba religious community in Rwanda
(the lightning capital of the world) who worship the lightning god Shango
. The reactions in each of Baichwal's subjects varies considerably, from an "act of God" to the "mechanics of reality".
Auster, the "philosophical anchor of the film", relates how he saw his friend being struck by lightning a short distance from him at a summer camp. Auster, 14 years old at the time, survived the incident while his friend died. Auster said "It opened up a whole realm of speculation that I've continued to live with ever since." Yet in spite of the deep effect this event had on him, Auster insists in the film that it was "nothing more than a random occurrence".
O'Reilly wrote a play
called Act of God which was based on his experience with lightning. In the film O'Reilly says "I can't accept that it happened for a reason, nor can I really accept that there is no reason. The only way to carry on is to be humble, and a little bit in awe of these things you can't really understand." Brinkley was also struck by lightning and described it as "dying for 28 minutes and going up to heaven and having a completely life-transforming experience."
Also present in the film is English experimental
and improvisational
guitarist Fred Frith
. Frith loosely ties up the stories by demonstrating that "we are electrical beings, our brains work electrically". In the laboratory of his brother, neuroscientist
Chris Frith
, Frith improvises music on his guitar while electrical impulses in his head are recorded with a brain scan, showing that "our very thoughts are akin to tiny lightning strikes in the cerebral cortex." Baichwal described improvisation as "the state of being between meaning and chance" and "it was the perfect metaphor for being struck by lightning".
Frith provides the music for his segment of the film, while the score for the rest of the film comes from musicians Martin Tielli
, Dave Bidini
and Selina Martin
.
where she studied for her Master's degree
in philosophy and theology at McGill University
. Her debut feature-length film was Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles in 1998, which won her Best Biography at the 1999 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and the 1999 International Emmy for Best Arts Documentary. Baichwal is best known for her 2006 multiple award winning documentary, Manufactured Landscapes
, which was about the Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky
.
Many of Baichwal's films are about artists and the creative process, but she has also explored philosophical and spiritual themes, for example in her award winning documentary The Holier It Gets, which records her journey to the source of the Ganges River in India. Act of God looks at both the artistic and "metaphysical" side of life.
Instead of using the "traditional scientific approach", Baichwal tackled the issue lightning strikes from a "philosophical point of view". She said "Our main challenge was figuring out how to make a film about something that's totally ephemeral. I love unanswerable questions; questions like 'Is there such a thing as destiny', and 'what does it all mean?'" While research is done into the role of electricity in our brains, Baichwal wanted to find out the effect of electricity on the mind. She said that "Lightning is always cast in a scientific light [in film], unless it's used as a joke. We wanted stories that embodied that tension between meaning and chance."
The idea of making Act of God came to Baichwal before she started working on her previous film, Manufactured Landscapes
. It was during that film's development and her travels around the world to attend its screenings at film festivals that she started doing research and conducting interviews for Act of God. But the final inspiration to begin work on the film came from her partner, Nick de Pencier, "a weather
nerd", and the writings of lightning survivor, Paul Auster
.
Act of God took three years to make, which included several years of research and collecting stories from around the world of people "whose lives [were] changed by lightning". De Pencier was the film's cinematographer
and co-producer.
Chris Jancelewicz of AOL
Canada Entertainment said the footage taken by Jennifer Baichwal's partner, Nick de Pencier is "nothing short of remarkable". "One of the amazing things about Act of God is Baichwal's ability to resist this urge to dictate what lightning, and ultimately chance, fate, and destiny mean in the bigger picture." Jancelewicz said that throughout the film Baichwal never imposes her views, and never comes to any conclusion, simply because "there is no conclusion to be found".
Susan Noakes of CBC News
described the film as an "enigmatic meditation on being struck by lightning". Jessica Werb at the The Georgia Straight
said the film was "one hell of a thesis". She added that while "most of us live [...] somewhere 'in the continuum of meaning and randomness'", the lives of those appearing in the film, "in one terrifying instant, swung to one extreme or the other".
Norman Wilner of NOW Magazine gave the film 4 'N's out of 5, and Nathan Southern at Allmovie gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that investigates the "metaphysical" effects of being struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes
Manufactured Landscapes
Manufactured Landscapes is a 2006 documentary film about the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.- Subject matter :...
) and distributed by Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films is an American independent film distributor based in New York City founded in 1988 by co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo. Films distributed by Zeitgeist are strongly auteur-driven by directors such as Christopher Nolan, Guy Maddin, Atom Egoyan, Todd Haynes, Nuri Bilge...
. The film's world premier was at the 2009 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival at the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on 30 April 2009. It went on general release in Canada on 1 May 2009, and limited release in the United States on 31 July 2009. The film's European premiere was at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
on 11 July 2009.
Overview
In Act of God director Jennifer Baichwal questions whether being struck by lightningLightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
is a "random natural occurrence or a predestined event". The film contains seven stories in which Baichwal interviews people about their personal experiences with lightning strikes. She speaks to American novelist and screenwriter Paul Auster
Paul Auster
Paul Benjamin Auster is an American author known for works blending absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and the search for identity and personal meaning in works such as The New York Trilogy , Moon Palace , The Music of Chance , The Book of Illusions and The Brooklyn Follies...
, Canadian dramatist James O'Reilly, and U.S. Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
and author Dannion Brinkley
Dannion Brinkley
Dannion Brinkley is an American author who described two near death experiences in his 1994 book Saved by the Light. He is also a hospice volunteer, speaker, and prominent figure in the New Age and New Thought Movement....
. She also interviews a storm chaser
Storm chasing
Storm chasing is broadly defined as the pursuit of any severe weather condition, regardless of motive, which can be curiosity, adventure, scientific exploration or for news professions/media coverage....
in France, and a group of Mexican mothers who accept the loss of their children to lightning at a religious festival as "God's will". She also investigates a Yoruba religious community in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(the lightning capital of the world) who worship the lightning god Shango
Shango
In the Yorùbá religion, Sàngó is perhaps one of the most popular Orisha; also known as the god of fire, lightning and thunder...
. The reactions in each of Baichwal's subjects varies considerably, from an "act of God" to the "mechanics of reality".
Auster, the "philosophical anchor of the film", relates how he saw his friend being struck by lightning a short distance from him at a summer camp. Auster, 14 years old at the time, survived the incident while his friend died. Auster said "It opened up a whole realm of speculation that I've continued to live with ever since." Yet in spite of the deep effect this event had on him, Auster insists in the film that it was "nothing more than a random occurrence".
O'Reilly wrote a play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
called Act of God which was based on his experience with lightning. In the film O'Reilly says "I can't accept that it happened for a reason, nor can I really accept that there is no reason. The only way to carry on is to be humble, and a little bit in awe of these things you can't really understand." Brinkley was also struck by lightning and described it as "dying for 28 minutes and going up to heaven and having a completely life-transforming experience."
Also present in the film is English experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and improvisational
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
guitarist Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
. Frith loosely ties up the stories by demonstrating that "we are electrical beings, our brains work electrically". In the laboratory of his brother, neuroscientist
Neuroscientist
A neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields...
Chris Frith
Chris Frith
Christopher Donald Frith is professor emeritus at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London and a Niels Bohr Visiting Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark...
, Frith improvises music on his guitar while electrical impulses in his head are recorded with a brain scan, showing that "our very thoughts are akin to tiny lightning strikes in the cerebral cortex." Baichwal described improvisation as "the state of being between meaning and chance" and "it was the perfect metaphor for being struck by lightning".
Frith provides the music for his segment of the film, while the score for the rest of the film comes from musicians Martin Tielli
Martin Tielli
Martin Tielli is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He was a member of the Rheostatics, and has also released material as a solo artist and with the side project Nick Buzz. As well, he has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Barenaked Ladies, Kevin Hearn, The Waltons, Jane Siberry, Ashley...
, Dave Bidini
Dave Bidini
Dave Bidini is a Canadian musician, journalist and author originating from Etobicoke, Ontario. He is a founding member of the acclaimed rock band Rheostatics, and has published several books about music and sports. He currently performs with his band, aptly named BidiniBand. The group's first...
and Selina Martin
Selina Martin
Selina Martin was involved in the suffragette movement in the early 20th century. She was arrested several times.- Early life :Selina Martin was born 21 November 1882, in Ulverston, England. She was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Martin, and was the seventh of eleven living children...
.
Background
Jennifer Baichwal was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
where she studied for her Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in philosophy and theology at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. Her debut feature-length film was Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles in 1998, which won her Best Biography at the 1999 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, and the 1999 International Emmy for Best Arts Documentary. Baichwal is best known for her 2006 multiple award winning documentary, Manufactured Landscapes
Manufactured Landscapes
Manufactured Landscapes is a 2006 documentary film about the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.- Subject matter :...
, which was about the Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky
Edward Burtynsky
Edward Burtynsky OC is a Canadian photographer and artist who has achieved international recognition for his large-format photographs of industrial landscapes. His work is housed in more than fifteen major museums including the Guggenheim Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Bibliothèque...
.
Many of Baichwal's films are about artists and the creative process, but she has also explored philosophical and spiritual themes, for example in her award winning documentary The Holier It Gets, which records her journey to the source of the Ganges River in India. Act of God looks at both the artistic and "metaphysical" side of life.
Instead of using the "traditional scientific approach", Baichwal tackled the issue lightning strikes from a "philosophical point of view". She said "Our main challenge was figuring out how to make a film about something that's totally ephemeral. I love unanswerable questions; questions like 'Is there such a thing as destiny', and 'what does it all mean?'" While research is done into the role of electricity in our brains, Baichwal wanted to find out the effect of electricity on the mind. She said that "Lightning is always cast in a scientific light [in film], unless it's used as a joke. We wanted stories that embodied that tension between meaning and chance."
The idea of making Act of God came to Baichwal before she started working on her previous film, Manufactured Landscapes
Manufactured Landscapes
Manufactured Landscapes is a 2006 documentary film about the work of photographer Edward Burtynsky. It was directed by Jennifer Baichwal and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.- Subject matter :...
. It was during that film's development and her travels around the world to attend its screenings at film festivals that she started doing research and conducting interviews for Act of God. But the final inspiration to begin work on the film came from her partner, Nick de Pencier, "a weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
nerd", and the writings of lightning survivor, Paul Auster
Paul Auster
Paul Benjamin Auster is an American author known for works blending absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and the search for identity and personal meaning in works such as The New York Trilogy , Moon Palace , The Music of Chance , The Book of Illusions and The Brooklyn Follies...
.
Act of God took three years to make, which included several years of research and collecting stories from around the world of people "whose lives [were] changed by lightning". De Pencier was the film's cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
and co-producer.
Critical reception
Act of God was selected as the Opening Night Gala feature at the 2009 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, the largest documentary film festival in North America.Chris Jancelewicz of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
Canada Entertainment said the footage taken by Jennifer Baichwal's partner, Nick de Pencier is "nothing short of remarkable". "One of the amazing things about Act of God is Baichwal's ability to resist this urge to dictate what lightning, and ultimately chance, fate, and destiny mean in the bigger picture." Jancelewicz said that throughout the film Baichwal never imposes her views, and never comes to any conclusion, simply because "there is no conclusion to be found".
Susan Noakes of CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
described the film as an "enigmatic meditation on being struck by lightning". Jessica Werb at the The Georgia Straight
The Georgia Straight
The Georgia Straight is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp...
said the film was "one hell of a thesis". She added that while "most of us live [...] somewhere 'in the continuum of meaning and randomness'", the lives of those appearing in the film, "in one terrifying instant, swung to one extreme or the other".
Norman Wilner of NOW Magazine gave the film 4 'N's out of 5, and Nathan Southern at Allmovie gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5.