Doctor Strange

I'm not really big into super hero films, but when Diksha said, 'you have to watch it ma, and I want to watch it with you' (her second time), I went. And I got why she wanted me to go; it's marvel's first foray into the realms of the mystical and the occult.

             

A genius and world famous neurosurgeon, Doctor Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) life changes after a bad accident, when he finds he can no longer use his hands. As each surgical and traditional treatment fails, he hears of a mysterious treatment at a place called Kamar Taj in Nepal, and that starts his rendezvous with the 'Ancient One' and with worlds and possibilities he hadn't known existed.

It's in a sense as trippy, as it can be real......it's got energy manifestation, out of body experiences, astral planes, mandalas, time portals, space time continuum...all those fascinating concepts. I say trippy, not just because it's very sci-fi, but also because none any longer sound impossible....actually highly probable.

In fact Astrophysicist Adam Frank of the University of Rochester was enlisted by Marvel as a consultant for the film, and he helped flesh out the world (or worlds) that Strange inhabits in the film. One of the main angles of the film's philosophy that Frank helped guide was its focus on consciousness, where the reality in which we live is merely what our consciousness perceives as reality, but not necessarily the only reality.

It  takes me back to 'The Autobiography of a Yogi' where Yogananda talks of how the human mind evolves to grasp new possibilities.......'reality - imagination - sci fi - technology - reality'. 

An example he gives is of telepathy. At one point in history it would have seemed impossible that people across hundreds of kilometers could talk to each other. Then came telegraphs, telephones, cell phones.......think theories of the extended mind, and we know we're getting there. 

Anyways, back to the movie.....the 'Ancient One' played by Tilda Swinton, is Strange's mentor and teacher in the magical arts, an unwordly and ageless zen teacher, reflecting stillness, a wry sense of humor and an earthly cruelty. She has some interesting lessons.... she teaches Strange to surrender, unlearn all that he already knows, leave the ego completely behind.

The movie's visualization through CGI was mind blowing.  The length of the credits is indicative of the extent of work that has gone into it.

All fascinating stuff, and the visualization so electrifying and powerful that at points I felt my head literally spin in the effort to grasp it, and I'm guessing I got about half there.