The Celestine Prophecy (2006)

A Masterpiece!

A different way of telling a story

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

An adaptation of James Redfield's novel about the search for a sacred manuscript in the Peruvian rain forest . Disillusioned and temporarily rudderless, John Woodson (Matthew Settle ) is about to experience a dramatic and profound metamorphosis. Through a mysterious set of coincidences, he travels to Peru to find out strange scrolls , known as the Celestine Prophecy. In Peru Woodson meets a motley group of people (Sarah Wayne , Hector Helizondo , Jurgen Prochnow , Anabeth Gish..) with dark secrets . John gets drawn into a cobweb of mysterious events . Resistant at first, skeptical and unsure, John finds that each step he takes, each person he encounters leads him to a new awakening. It is only in this letting go that he finds his destiny and comes to understand the meaning that had escaped him when his adventure began. Thought-provoking film that packs suspense , thrills , religious events , heartfelt message and weird philosophy . It's a crossover among various films , as it takes parts from ¨The Seventh Sign¨ , ¨The fountain ¨ , ¨The reaping¨ , and ¨The gathering¨ . The picture contains an interesting premise about the prophecy and its nine key insights, predict a new awakening that redefines human life and provides a glimpse into a completely spiritual culture on earth . It's a spiritual triller skillfully narrated with bit action and slightly entertaining. This polished film provides chills, thrills in lively mystery . It's rich and dark though sometimes confusing . The film belongs to supernatural prophecy sub-genre (along with : ¨The omen¨, ¨The seventh sign¨, ¨The Body¨ , among others). Average acting by Matthew Seattle as a young who finds himself on an adventure to Peru in search of ancient scrolls . Very good support cast plenty of respected players such as Thomas Kretschmann as Wil , Sarah Wayne Callies as Marjorie , Annabeth Gish as Julia , Hector Elizondo as Cardinal Sebastian , Joaquim de Almeida as Father Sanchez and Jürgen Prochnow as Jensen . Esoteric music and excessive use of synthesizer by Nuno Malo . The motion picture loosely based on the book Celestine Prophecy was regularly directed by Armand Mastroianni . Armand has been directing feature films, mini series, movies of the week, TV pilots and episodic series since 1979 beginning with his first feature film "He Knows You're Alone" which was released by MGM in 1980 and featured the screen debut of Tom Hanks. That film led to a string of features including "The Killing Hour" developed with William Fredkin, "The Supernaturals," "Distortions," "Cameron's Closet" and "Double Revenge." In between shooting feature films Armand began to produce and direct episodic television shows and series like Virus , Invasión , First daughter , Citizen Jane , A Gunfighter's Pledge , The finalist , Pandemic and many others .

Why am I constantly picking Made for TV movies from the video shop??This movie made no sense. It seemed to be a Christian/Catholic Church anti-New Age rant and witch hunt through the ages, up to the present day. Something to do with a dumb cult prophecy proclaiming Love and Peace Forever dude! The main character spends the entire movie wandering around completely lost, and things just happen because other characters said so. Everything that happens is one boring coincidence after another. And for a guy who knows nothing about New Age/cult religion, he somehow manages to learn in record time how to make himself invisible to the bad guys not once, but twice. While standing in full view of them.Sigh.Also accompanied by mythical sounding music and filters over the camera lenses to make stuff "glow gold-like". With rainbows, waterfalls and fluffy white clouds in the background.Whatever.I felt like I was watching some kind of hoaky religious cult flick.Facepalm. Shake, shake, shake.

Disconnected. We drift across a world crowded with concrete, buzzing with distraction, and where we are searching for answers that will never come. Our eyes are closed. We take for granted what the day brings us, never looking beyond or within. We wrap ourselves in illusion, believing to be connected, but what we really seek remains out of reach. We need to let go. Our way of life is dragging us down, drowning our heart and soul in conflict, and we struggle for control. We fear to just be. We need to be something, someone, so we can't let go. We can't see what lies beyond concrete walls and congested streets, and we remain in limbo, never knowing the purpose of why we are really here. We need to believe. A better world exists, but it remains a dream to the conflict of life. Fear keeps us prisoner, and we remain chained to its side. We have to let go. We have to open our eyes, see the path that waits to be found, and we can't be afraid. We are destined to become something so much more. All we have to do is take a step forward and deny those, who would hold us back. We are connected, and it is that connection that buzzes with energy through the walls and streets of our life.

I never read the novel, but you don't need a high IQ to follow the storyline and the message this movie conveys. So I don't understand some of the whiny comments about "confusing". Go back to your cartoons. While we are bombarded with fast-paced, foul-mouthed and nerve-ripping action movies left and right, this movie is a breadth of fresh air like in the lush green Peruvian rainforest! A movie experience should not only grab your eyes but also penetrate your brains.All the actors are wonderful in this movie, however, the ones who stand out are Annabelle Gish and Thomas Kretschmann. There's incredible chemistry between those two. Matthew Settle did an excellent job, too. After seeing this movie, I now want to read the book.