The Zohar Secret (2017)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This film resonated with me, as I am a student of kabbalah, based in the the ToRaH, properly translated 'Teaching of Light'. This film skillfully contrasts Max's alternating between a confused ignorance, which is a reflection of our human nature, its physical reality, and moments of revelatory clarity, the spiritual reality of our human existence. To simplify for those who did not like this film, not perceiving its truth. Consider water, we are able to see it in all its physical manifestations, and are unable to see its molecular structure without the aid of a NRI, Nuclear Resonance Imaging, apparatus. Kabbalah is like the NRI, it enables the seeker student to perceive above our instinct for survival dimension of soul, to transcend our feelings and thoughts, opening the portal to our spirit's intuition, and experiencing the ONEness with our CREATOR, and each other. In the CREATOR'S four letter name, encoded in the gematria, each letter has a numerical value, of the letters, is "Love is ONEness." One of the most beautifully sublime statements of the unity of all human souls is this: "All of our souls were bound together in the Collective Soul of Adam and Havah, the first human beings. That is, each of the six billion souls of the world's present population is rooted in the first, Divinely-created man and woman. Therefore, in the depths of our psyche, we share a common unity. However, we have fallen asleep, become unconscious of this primal reality." - Rabbi Chaim VitalI withheld the 10/10, as the film neglected to mention the foundation of the four dimensional truth inspiring the ToRaH. PaRDeS - literal objective, ReMeZ - allegorical poetical, DeRaSH - ethical homiletic, and SoD - mystical spiritual. The Zohar is an exemplary illustration in perceiving this wisdom and understanding the four dimensions of each letter, word, and verse.Without ToRaH, there is no kabbalah, no Zohar, etymology "light". It is, however, a good introduction to the concept of humanity's spiritual reality.

7/10I recently saw The Zohar Secret in Amazon Prime and decided to give it a shot.The story begins with Max, a Roman soldier, being charged with the return of one of the recently discovered scrolls of Zohar to Jerusalem. Why this is so vitally important to anyone else but Max is not fully explained by the film and is arguably not critically important to the movie. Neither is the significance of Zohar, and whether this is the same Zohar of Jewish literature, explained.It feels strange to say that this is not a spoiler, but Max dies in the first few minutes of the film, but only to come back in another time and place (always in the future) - a cycle that continues as long as the scroll is not returned to its rightful place. Following along in these episodes is Max's doppleganger, sometimes as a character of the time or other times as an alter ego, who acts as the antagonist and the only one who seems to know everything, including all that has happened to Max to that point. We are never sure if the doppleganger is real or imaginary. Was he cursed along with Max when they are both killed in the catacomb? or is Max imagining him? These leaps of time and space from Max's point of view are the most effective part of the film. After each leap, we share in Max's disorientation as we discover our new existence and share in his apprehension not knowing if he will die within minutes or live a full life only to learn at the end that the quest must still be fulfilled.The cinematography and design of period pieces and wardrobe are excellent, particularly for a film with such a modest budget. As I was watching this film, I was wondering if this would be the best film I would see this year or if I would be disappointed at the end. Yes, early parts of this film are that brilliant.The story wraps up with a seed of doubt in the viewer as to the reliability of our protagonist as the point of view of the story. Fine, I thought, and allowed myself to play along expecting this would be a perfect setup for some amazing reveal. However, in my opinion, the ending is disappointing and lacking in the artistry of the rest of the film. It gives the impression of a hurried production and a patchwork of different directions, anyone of which could have been the ending only to be all conveniently tidied up as the credits roll. Too bad. I was rooting to be swept away at the end of the quest.

Very well done.. an inspiring and entertaining reminder of everything you already knew to be true.

I've just seen this movie yesterday and cant stop thinking about the strong emotions it made me feel. I won't go into a praise only to be called delusional after by people who have clearly not grasped the concept and meaning of this film. If you are thinking about watching this movie, but are put off by the negative reviews, consider this:Who are you going to believe? The guys who claim they were open-minded enough to watch this film, but at the same time prove the opposite when denying every possibility that a person might actually, really, truthfully like this movie by stating that the positive reviews MUST be written by reviewers who are either delusional or paid, or simply have terrible taste OR the few people who say this movie is a gem, a one-of-a-kind creation with a deep meaning about life and humanity, but requires a certain type of world view and most of all, openness to be able to see the value in it. The decision is yours to make.