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"Everything that has a beginning must have an end".
Or does it?
The groundbreaking MATRIX series (but not its impact) comes to
a conclusion with MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS and I believe that it will
be remembered for decades to come as a seminal step forward in
the potential of Spiritual Cinema to remind us of the complex
beauty and paradox of our humanity. So, please, see it yourself.
Regardless of what you may hear or have heard to the contrary—regardless
of what you may have felt about MATRIX: RELOADED. There is magic
and mystery in this film that rivals and, in some ways such as
its brilliant and paradoxical ending, surpasses the original MATRIX.
The symbolism and fascination of the film start with the title
itself: REVOLUTIONS. Plural. Not just the standoff between humanity
and technology, but multiple meanings such as evolving and becoming
a society where the ascension of racial equality and feminine
energy has reached such an apogee that the heroes of the film
are, save for Neo, women and people of color. With a nod to John
Lennon, imagine that. "It’s easy if you try".
The visuals in MATRIX are dazzling and majestic but it is has
always been the philosophical and metaphysical musings of the
MATRIX trilogy that have made the series so extraordinary. REVOLUTIONS
illuminates both the challenges and breathtaking opportunities
of humanity on the brink of knowing the unknowable. On the brink
of, but not yet ever quite complete. As is said in the film-"I
didn’t know…but I did believe". The human experiment,
the "illusion" of life, the ephemeral nature of our
notions of reality. Emotions and glimpses of the potential answers
to our existence, tantalizing yet never so obvious as to rob us
of our individual right to create and interpret our own reality.
For these reasons and more, I feel that this column must take
on a more unconventional form than any of my other columns. Challenges
to us as an audience abound in REVOLUTIONS, not in plot "turnings",
which we will leave for the viewer to discover, but rather in
the fascinating ambiguities of the tantalizing clues that lead
Neo and Trinity to their destinies. We could discuss this for
hours and hours--and will as the years unfold--but space here
allows us only to examine one of the film’s most exhilarating
complexities.
The crux of Neo’s journey in REVOLUTIONS is explained early
on to him by the Oracle who tells him that " no one can see
beyond a choice that they don’t understand". Choice.
The word and concept behind it lie at the center of the MATRIX
and have also become perhaps one of the key concepts of our evolving
humanity. We have chosen a path of destruction before. Atlantis.
Maya. Egypt. One of the crucial tenets of the new spirituality
of the last half-century has been our recognition that fate is
not indeed thrust upon us. We have choices. Opportunity can present
itself, yes, but our fate is never forced upon us as an inevitability.
We can CHOOSE to hear the clarion call of our soul’s call
to adventure or choose to ignore it. We have the final say as
to whether or not we actually move into that eternal flow of our
own destiny. When we do make that leap, we almost immediately
sense at the core of our beings that the choice is made from a
deep well within our own hearts and consciousness and yet it remains
just beyond our ability to totally comprehend; nevertheless, we
are forevermore drawn forward by the choice we have made to engage
the world of mystery and paradox. Neo and Trinity have a passionate
love for each other and yet both have a knowing on a deep soul
level that they must each moment choose to push inexorably forward,
regardless of the consequences. As the Merovingian notes early
on about them: "Remarkable how close the pattern of love
is to the pattern of insanity." Neo even comments much later
in the film that he persists in his quest simply because he so
CHOOSES. If for no other reason than the spotlight that the film
focuses on our freedom-and responsibility- to choose, REVOLUTIONS
deserves our attention and respect as it mirrors an agonizing
and seemingly insoluble problem of our own modernity. The right
to choose. Conception. Birth. Freedom. Reality itself.
The Wachowski brothers who conceived, wrote, and directed the
MATRIX trilogy have been faulted recently for making concessions
to commerciality. Being given $300 million to make RELOADED and
REVOLUTIONS created a daunting balancing act and I personally
believe that they deserve our awe and respect as true visionaries
who have introduced concepts into mainstream culture that could
never have been even imagined before they began our journey into
the world of MATRIX. And they saved the best for last because
not since 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY has there been a more intricate
and fascinating closing ten minutes than REVOLUTIONS. I believe
that film classes will be discussing the ending for years to come
and the interpretations will be as varied as they were for 2001.
The Wachowskis will not discuss their interpretation of the ending
of the series. They respect our right to CHOOSE…..Somewhere,
Stanley Kubrick must be smiling.
MovieMystic Chakra Rating for MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS (For an explanation
of THE CHAKRA RATING SYSTEM, please visit www.Movingmessagesmedia.com)
Chakra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Rating 5 4 4 5 4 4 5
Stephen Simon has produced such films as Somewhere
in Time and What Dreams May Come. He is currently producing INDIGO
(www.Indigothemovie.com). His book The Force is With You: Mystical
Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives, published by Walsh Books/Hampton
Roads, is now available. Stephen also leads seminars, telecourses,
and inspirational Mystical Movie events around the world. For
more information, please visit www.Mysticalmovies.com . Stephen
welcomes your comments by email: Stephen @MysticalMovies.com
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