Sick Product of a Sick System

Powerful

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Where did this guy get the time and money to go on this guided worldwide tour? I dunno. What did he learn at the end? "To be human is to be constantly learning." DURRR, OKAY. So after setting out to find what the meaning of life is, he didn't seem to learn anything. This is very disappointing. I mean, the movie is one fairly interesting monologue after another by spiritual leaders and scientists, but this guy who's supposedly on a quest for meaning never has ANYTHING to say about it all. He's like a guy who visits a bunch of weight rooms without lifting one dumbbell, then somehow thinks he accomplished something.I didn't like this guy very much. He doesn't DO anything. He just asks a bunch of people what the meaning of life is before flitting off to friggin' eat and repeat the process with someone else. He's not intriguing, he doesn't tell us his thoughts on all this information, doesn't do any work to ask HIMSELF these questions. It's almost like a male Eat Pray Love, except he doesn't get laid. The palpable disrespect and confusion some of the interviewees felt towards him made me uncomfortable, particularly the turbaned Sikhs staring at him -- I expected them to just shush him and ask him "what are you DOING here, man? What do you WANT? I know you see us as one more dish on a spiritual buffet, but we take this seriously."His choice of people to interview was weird. He couldn't find a "spiritual guru" who wasn't horrifyingly fat and swore a lot? He respects diversity so much that he lumps in Satanism with Christianity and Buddhism? Moron, why don't you lump in Yoga with murder, since they both involve moving your body. His approach to religion is condescending, undiscriminating, and reeks of the typical juvenile peremptory scoffing you see today. Whatever this guy is looking for, he should have saved the money he spent on this dog and got in shape instead, while looking for spiritual answers by actually studying and practicing them.

Is there some grand, eloquent meaning and purpose to life? Or is it all just about sex and chocolate? This new documentary certainly does not provide any unswerving answers...except for the realization that, no matter how strongly one person may believe in their own solutions to these questions, there is someone else out there who will just as confidently and definitely contradict him.Director Roger Nygard spent many years traveling the US and "hot spots" around the world interviewing experts and, well, not experts, to see what they had to say about the most unanswerable challenges of human existence. Is there a God? What happens when you die? What is morality? Why does any of it matter? From the little girl who lives next door to a conservative Jewish Rabi in Israel to a Druid priest and many physicists and "God experts", the answers are sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, and sometimes a little scary. And which ones you think fall into which categories will probably depend on what you already think the correct answers are. Especially on the whole "God" question level.What I really loved about this DVD is that Nygard never tries to wrap things up in a nutshell. Hundreds of hours of interviews are simply edited together so that there is a back-and-forth and a flow to the conversation, tied together with his own quirky narration of how confusing it all is or where he's going to try for answers next.As a woman in the middle of my own existential crisis, I thought the whole conversation was thrilling. Most of us grow up learning one set of ideals. Usually the ones held by our parents and the community we live in. Some of those teachings can be invasive and touch on every fiber of every decision we make. Others are pretty vague, as Carrie Bradshaw says, "I went to the church of be nice to others and chew with your mouth closed." But to be able to stand aside from what we feel is "right" and "true"--especially the TRUE part--and ponder another perspective, is absolutely vital. A few good solid "what ifs" never hurt anyone. If you find everything you cherish totally upended, well, maybe you were not on such solid footing to begin with.I'm not promising that this DVD will rock your world, but I hope it will make you think. No matter what side of things you stand on, you are going to hear from those who take exactly the opposite view. Listen to them. Take a minute to hear things from the other side. Open your thought. Open your heart. There's a big world out there and millions of people churn around in it. Taking 90 minutes to hear what some of them have to say about the biggest questions of life may just be some good, rich chocolate for your soul.According to one of the men interviewed, chocolate is the purpose of life. Sounds like a good first step to me!!(from my blog "Chocolate Media")

Roger Nygard, a smart, talented filmmaker who has given us fun documentaries in the past, delivers his best film to date. The Nature of Existence is fast moving, hilarious, sharp, film about the meaning of life. If anyone can make an enjoyable film about a personal and controversial topic as religion, is Mr. Nygard. He gives everyone a chance to voice their opinion without judgment and he himself seems to have learned something while making this film. Although the film is hilarious, it is also a personal journey about finding "what it all means." Laughed from the beginning to the end but also leaves you thinking... Thoroughly enjoyed the film and recommend it to all who ever asked "why?"!

I'm getting older, and the older I get the more I'm thinking about what life is all about, because if all it's about are the lousy dates I've been going on lately, well...what a rip off.I saw this documentary at a film festival in Pennsylvania last year, to be honest...I thought we bought tickets to another film and when I saw it was a documentary I nearly jumped up and ran out, but because we were seated in the middle of a populated row and running out was going to be a problem I thought I'd tough it out...my patience was rewarded.My first thought on a film about why we exist was DRY, perhaps the term BORING jumped to mind, but this was neither. This film is totally funny (let me just say this - Christian WRESTLERS, need I say more? Entire marketing campaigns have been mounted on less interesting items), breezy, and a lot of fun to watch. I'm a bit of a social butterfly, I have to tell you, and this film has given me lots of ammo to bring up at dinner parties. I'm telling you that here and now, but at these parties I'm claiming all the witty and well read ideas as my own...you will too, admit it.The director is also the narrator, and if there was one note I'd like to pass along to him - don't star in any future endeavors...seriously, holy cow, he was like a creepy guy who hangs out near schools only here he was traveling around the world asking people about God, The After Life, and Masturbation...seriously...that's brought up. He teams up at one point with this Holy Roller who preaches on college campuses, the things that come out of his mouth are jaw dropping...and yet totally quotable. The real laugh is I'm fairly certain I saw this guy on my campus as a kid - hello Mr. Creepy and Mr. Evangelist, may I scream now? All that aside, the film is ultimately a sincerely brilliant experience, well edited, and somewhat of a happy cinema going accident for me. The next time I get some vacation time together from the job I'm going to India to study with this Spiritual Leader there who appears in the film...he's so...I dunno, he seems like he'd be a hoot to meditate with...oh, and there's this other guru named AHA, he's not much to look at...but he's got a lot to say that's worth listening too. If I ever meet him, I have some wisdom to pass along to him - it's one word - aerobics.I wouldn't even review this film here really, because of seeing it at a festival I figure no one would ever get the chance to see it - but I just saw the trailer on the APPLE site, and heard it's going to be playing a few blocks away from where I live here in NYC...which is great, but now everyone's going to be hip to my deep thoughts at my next dinner party.