Movies that are both visually and mentally meditative, contemplative, and visually stimulating.

PERFECT DAYS

Hirayama is content with his simple life cleaning toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Unexpected encounters reveal more of his story in a deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the world around us.

A Film by Wim Wenders

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What I Found Mindful: The movie has more silence than dialogue as we observe the main character, watching him and seeing the world through his eyes. From rituals of reading at night and watering his plants in the morning, to looking at the ski first thing in the morning and the trees while eating the same sandwich each day. Music plays an important role in the movie and the life journey.

DOWN WITH THE KING

Rap star Money Merc (Freddie Gibbs) has been sent by his manager, Paul, to a rural house in the Berkshires to focus on his next album. Disenchanted with his music career and the 24/7 upkeep that such fame entails, Merc has no desire to write or record music. Instead, he spends most of his time at his neighbor’s farm learning about farming and enjoying the simplicity of country life. After Merc abruptly announces his retirement on Twitter, Paul rushes to the countryside to lure him back into the music industry.

A Film by Diego Ongaro

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MANTRA: Sound into Silence

A feature-length documentary that, through the eyes—and ears—of its protagonists, explores the new music and social phenomenon of chanting. This is a film about ordinary people who find healing and a sense of inner peace by singing mantras together, sometimes with only a few others and sometimes with thousands of others, just like them. It’s also a film about the artists and musicians at the center of this new music movement. It’s a film about spirituality, not religion; it’s about people reconnecting with their true selves and finding meaning in their lives. Featuring: Deva Premal & Miten, Manose, Krishna Das, Snatam Kaur, Jai Uttal, MC Yogi, Lama Gyurme, Stephan Rechtschaffen, C.C. White, Dave Stringer, Mirabai Ceiba, Anand Semalty, Guara Vani, Nina Rao, and more.

A Film by Georgia Wyss and Wari Om

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A STILL SMALL VOICE

A Still Small Voice follows Mati, a chaplain completing a year-long hospital residency, as she learns to provide spiritual care to people confronting profound life changes. Through Mati’s experiences with her patients, her struggle with professional burnout, and her own spiritual questioning, we gain new perspectives on the meaning of connection and the pain of its absence.

A Film by Luke Lorentzen

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COLOR BOOK

Following the recent loss of his wife, Lucky is learning to navigate life as a single father to his son Mason, who has Down syndrome. Hoping to give Mason a special day, the two set out across Atlanta to attend their first baseball game together. What should be a simple trip becomes a day filled with setbacks, missed trains, frustration and plans that don’t work out. Through its quiet black-and-white cinematography and unhurried pace, the film becomes less about reaching the game and more about the relationship between a father and son along the way.

A Film by David Fortune

What I Found Mindful: Amid all the doing, disappointment, frustration and plans not working out, there can still be a spark. Mason reminded me that every situation can hold a gift or an opportunity if we are open enough to notice it.

For me, that came through one particular drawing Mason made of fireworks. The movie didn’t make a big deal of the drawing, and perhaps that’s why it affected me so much. While Lucky experienced much of their day through the frustrations of what was going wrong, Mason’s drawings quietly captured what he was experiencing along the way. The fireworks drawing became my reminder that something meaningful can exist right in the middle of a difficult day.

What I especially love is that someone else watching Color Book might choose an entirely different drawing—or a different moment altogether. The film doesn’t tell us what we are supposed to find meaningful. It gives us the space to notice for ourselves.

Maybe that’s the meditation within Color Book: What was my fireworks drawing today?

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