Spirituality isn't a topic for debate using facts or statistics. It's based on a key factor that cannot be proved: faith. The very definition of the word faith when used in spirituality means to have trust and belief in something you cannot prove. For me, either you have it or you don't. When you have it, there is nothing anyone can say or do to dissuade you from your beliefs and many who do not have it spend a lot of time trying to make those with faith feel stupid or uninformed.
Jonas Elrod moves me in this film because of his honest and brave approach of placing his fears in the open and rolling up his sleeves and getting to the bottom of what is happening to him in his new existence. It's an candid journey over three years following a man desperately trying to figure out why he can all of the sudden access spirits and energy's and what his role is in the world with this new sensitivity.
I will say, this documentary is very non-threatening. Many films on this topic, at some point, stray from the underlined purpose and try to drive home an agenda or ideology. Frankly, this was just an honest movie about a scared and insecure man just trying to save his relationship with the woman he loves while trying to figure out why the hell all of the sudden he can experience and see things he'd only read about or seen in movies.
My take away form this film is something that hit and stuck with me towards the end. Jonas was at with a Native American family going on a vision quest. There was a baby with the father and the baby was so energetic and full of life- soaking in all that was around him and the father was so quiet and patient. I loved the dynamic because the father knew the baby was experiencing and learning all the new things around him, things the baby has never seen. It reminded me of Jonas and his quest for knowledge. For me- what's the difference between a baby being introduced to a new world full of things he's never seen, smelled, felt, tasted, or heard before and the world for Jonas now, which is full of new senses for him to learn and experience. Who are we to judge someone's journey when we don't have the experiences to relate or compare to his?
I also learned that in all the Native American languages, there is no term or word for "goodbye", only "til next time". How lovely. So, with that said, til your next film, Jonas Elrod.