The Mindfulness Movement
Mindfulness sounds extremely New Agey as a concept, surrounding meditation and attempting to try and live in the moment as a way of stress and anxiety reduction. Admittedly, it is very New Agey. But, the idea of trying to be mindful of the moment, as an attempt to avoid catastrophizing or stressing about what has passed, is extremely helpful; as someone who has spent over a decade attending therapy for stress and anxiety issues, the idea of mindfulness has come up more than a few times, and though we have not practiced the meditative part of the concept, living in the moment has been a big aspect we have discussed, and it has, indeed helped. I guess that makes me as much of an advocate for the idea of mindfulness as the people we hear discussing their own experiences with it in this documentary. Do not expect that to result in a rapturous review of this film, however.
Robert Beemer’s documentary begins with Jewel, the artist and poet, as we hear her recount the first part of her journey towards mindfulness. She has become one of the biggest advocates for the practice- and indeed, she is a producer on this film- and the film splits stories like hers, and ABC reporter Dan Harris’s, journeys into greater mindfulness, and the platforms they have built to spread the message of mindfulness, into three parts, with the film taking us into the different ways mindfulness has been utilized to help people like athletes, prisoners and veterans with PTSD, and even gives us a couple of moments to try it for ourselves through guided meditations that are filmed. Don’t worry, you get a cue for when to open your eyes back up.
This feels more like an infomercial for mindfulness than an exploratory documentary. As such, it is a solid piece of filmmaking, as Beemer puts together the combination of talking head interviews, personal narratives and other elements as a strong testimonial in favor of the concept of mindfulness. I enjoyed it as a moviewatcher, appreciated it as someone whose opened my mind to the ideas over the years, and feel like it’d be a worthwhile watch for people who may benefit from the sense of calm mindfulness can provide, especially in a time as stressful as the one we live in now. Even if it isn’t a profound piece of cinema, it might open minds to a profound change in the way we think, and deal with the anxieties of the moment. Or, it might be just too silly for people. That’s fine, as well, and I get it.
