ACT OF GOD
In Act of God director Jennifer Baichwal questions whether being struck by lightning is a "random natural occurrence or a predestined event".[2] The film contains seven stories in which Baichwal interviews people about their personal experiences with lightning strikes.[5] 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,[6] and a group of Mexican mothers who accept the loss of their children to lightning at a religious festival as "God's will".[7] She also investigates a Yoruba religious community in Rwanda (the lightning capital of the world) who worship the lightning god Shango.[6] The reactions in each of Baichwal's subjects varies considerably, from an "act of God" to the "mechanics of reality".[4]
Auster, the "philosophical anchor of the film",[6] 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."[8][9] 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".[7]
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."[6] 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."[6]
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".[6] In the laboratory of his brother,[2] neuroscientist Chris Frith, Frith improvises music on his guitar while electrical impulses in his head are recorded with a brain scan,[6][9] showing that "our very thoughts are akin to tiny lightning strikes in the cerebral cortex."[10] Baichwal described improvisation as "the state of being between meaning and chance" and "it was the perfect metaphor for being struck by lightning".[10]
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
Auster, the "philosophical anchor of the film",[6] 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."[8][9] 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".[7]
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."[6] 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."[6]
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".[6] In the laboratory of his brother,[2] neuroscientist Chris Frith, Frith improvises music on his guitar while electrical impulses in his head are recorded with a brain scan,[6][9] showing that "our very thoughts are akin to tiny lightning strikes in the cerebral cortex."[10] Baichwal described improvisation as "the state of being between meaning and chance" and "it was the perfect metaphor for being struck by lightning".[10]
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
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