I first watched this movie while I was on board a bumpy Air Canada flight en route for L.A. from Toronto, Canada. As the film progressed, I wondered however, why the flight crew chose to show this film on the plane. If they were showing this kind of movie, why couldn’t they just show Airforce One or Titanic? I hoped that the next time around, airlines will be more selective with the movies they show, avoiding those that prompt passengers to ask themselves about the certainly of death while on flight.

It brings to mind another flight, this time a Canada 3000 flight from Montreal to Toronto. Guess what music was playing on the radio as the plane took to the skies? No other than Celine Dion’s My Heart Goes On of Titanic fame, the most popular funeral song in the world. So okay, sooner or later, we are all going to die, right? If not on this plane, maybe in some other way. But can you not push it?

This is not to say, however, that the film What Dreams May Come isn’t good. On the contrary, it is visually entertaining, a visual feast at the very least. They have also selected such a classically beautiful woman to play opposite Robin Williams. The film centers on the phenomenon of soul mates, arguing that this philosophy is real, that it can happen in real life.

And the film presents this premise in such a compelling way, imagine walking on a field which is not actually a field but an oil painting. As you step on the ground, your feet sink on a brown oil paint, or as your hands touch the tall grass, you end up smudging the green on the canvas. Boy, I can almost smell the paint!

There are some really scary parts, too, as when Williams and friends venture into hell to rescue his wife. Imagine stepping on a sea of living, yet decaying skulls, where people moan as you traverse your path. If this is hell, I really wouldn’t want to be in it!

What I don’t agree with, though, is this film’s argument that one can still change one’s eternal destiny, hell or heaven. I thought God determines that, not individual will. Or was I sleeping when that Catechism class was going on?

But what’s so nice about films is that you can disagree with them, and still enjoy what you’re watching. Sure, the idea of predestination through human will is very different from what religion taught us, but sure does keep us feeling positive.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older