As a piece of film-making, it can perhaps be said that the work succeeds in spite of itself.
The film-maker was so paranoid about offending viewers with the mere possibility that the drawings were real, channelled, material by a soul that once lived in Atlantis, that the entire thrust of the film (and the PR campaign around it) was ... was this woman mad or sane? Ugh! Talk about useless PR spin! Made worse by the bizarre film technique of repeating the last few words (via the audio track) in many sentences from tapes that Alma made when still alive.
When still alive. When still alive. See how annoying that is?? The movie is riddled with that bizarre trope.
The good news is that the drawings themselves steal the show and you have to put up with the ponderous narrative and self-doubt of the film-maker just to get to the drawings.
This reviewer is no expert (I lied -- maybe I am) but the style and technique to me seems identical to the style and technique in Mayan art.
Now, to digress, we do not have a lot of Mayan art to compare this to because Friar de Landa, in his zeal to convert the Mayans, decided that their written books (1000s of them) were the work of the Devil .. and burned them, to protect future readers with delicate sensibilities.
Making the Mayans instantly into one of the greatest mysteries of all time by removing any possible frame of reference.
It is coincidence (if you listen closely to this film) that Alma admits she burnt a number of her own drawings after drawing them (with automatic writing). She realized that others would not like the message, either.
(Memo to the next film-maker who tries to cover this work -- Look at the work of Maurice Cotterell, a leading edge thinker who among other feats has transposed Mayan art to a computer and then used overlays to show that true Mayan art was composed of 3D images flattened to 2D. I am betting that many of the Alma drawings would reveal 3D images in the same way).
Buried deep deep deep in his documentary are comments that Alma herself made about Atlantis, their science, their tech, and the fact that the culture was dominated by two groups constantly at war with each other.
Exactly like Edgar Cayce said. Coincidence?
A weak movie, a fascinating subject, and a treasure trove for students of lost civilizations.
Deserves a new look with fresh thinking.
The film-maker was so paranoid about offending viewers with the mere possibility that the drawings were real, channelled, material by a soul that once lived in Atlantis, that the entire thrust of the film (and the PR campaign around it) was ... was this woman mad or sane? Ugh! Talk about useless PR spin! Made worse by the bizarre film technique of repeating the last few words (via the audio track) in many sentences from tapes that Alma made when still alive.
When still alive. When still alive. See how annoying that is?? The movie is riddled with that bizarre trope.
The good news is that the drawings themselves steal the show and you have to put up with the ponderous narrative and self-doubt of the film-maker just to get to the drawings.
This reviewer is no expert (I lied -- maybe I am) but the style and technique to me seems identical to the style and technique in Mayan art.
Now, to digress, we do not have a lot of Mayan art to compare this to because Friar de Landa, in his zeal to convert the Mayans, decided that their written books (1000s of them) were the work of the Devil .. and burned them, to protect future readers with delicate sensibilities.
Making the Mayans instantly into one of the greatest mysteries of all time by removing any possible frame of reference.
It is coincidence (if you listen closely to this film) that Alma admits she burnt a number of her own drawings after drawing them (with automatic writing). She realized that others would not like the message, either.
(Memo to the next film-maker who tries to cover this work -- Look at the work of Maurice Cotterell, a leading edge thinker who among other feats has transposed Mayan art to a computer and then used overlays to show that true Mayan art was composed of 3D images flattened to 2D. I am betting that many of the Alma drawings would reveal 3D images in the same way).
Buried deep deep deep in his documentary are comments that Alma herself made about Atlantis, their science, their tech, and the fact that the culture was dominated by two groups constantly at war with each other.
Exactly like Edgar Cayce said. Coincidence?
A weak movie, a fascinating subject, and a treasure trove for students of lost civilizations.
Deserves a new look with fresh thinking.