Reviews

As a full-time professor of business and personal development, I have rarely had t time to watch films for pleasure. Most films I watch are to select as lessons which will tell the story of famous figures in history (especially those which are outside of my academic purview) who have made a difference. I hope my students learn through identifying specific attributes of the subject of the film which drove them to making a difference in the lives of others. Teaching online at home during the quarantine of 2020, I have gotten a chance to catch up on films I never watched before to learn more about amazing people who lives long ago continue to make a difference event today.

This film on the life of Florence Nightingale has been one of the best films I have watched recently. It stirs both the heart and mind of all those who appreciate the dedication of nurses on the frontline during the pandemic, by learning about their historical "mentor," Florence Nightingale. The film is beautiful to watch. The spirtiual component is not offensive, it actually shows that in every dedicated "nurse" their is indeed a higher calling (vocation) to serve others to the point of the loss of their own life.

Fairy tales historically were created to have children (or to remind the child within the adult which still remained) learn to identify and access the best of universal human values. If listened to with an open heart and brilliant mind a good fairy tale would teach us how to make the journey through life. The journey would first be uncomfortable as it would inevitably take us from the ordinary into the realm of the extraordinary. To become kind, good, unselfish, and loving are the values in this film without thought of reciprocity. Just like the characters in the film, the viewer can find the best in ourselves and others through watching the transformation of these same characters as every act progresses. OZ is fairy tale that reminds us all once again what it is to be human through great dialogue, acting, and incredible special effects (saw it first without 3-D, then returned yesterday to see it in 3-D). See it twice. The richness will create magic that will linger. Perhaps, just like Dorothy did in the original classic which this film mirrors, you will hear Glinda, resonate a well needed nudge, that the power to change and conquer fear power has always been available from within you.

The film is named Vision. It is very appropriate as the music that weaves the visuals to greater experiences by the viewer is from the CD of Hildegard's music by Richard Souther called by the same name, Vision. music) both stir the soul of her demographic to height upon height. Well done German filmmakers!!! The film was visually stunning. It is difficult to tell the tale of the most powerful female in Western Culture and do it in a universal manner. It is obvious that this film had a team that had their own Vision to do more than make a film, but create a digital film footprint of a globally known and loved academic, spiritual, and feminist historical icon and mentor.

It is interesting to see the reviews on this film. As the Chair of Marketing/International Business/Finance at S.B.C.C. (Santa Barbara City College which was rated as the only community college in the top ten of the U.S. by the Aspen Institute last year) I have the opportunity to hear the voices of the demographic that this film was targeted towards, and I think most of the reviewers have NOT recognized this market niche in their perceptions of the film. As a matter of fact, approximately seventy students from Sweden and the United States attended the premiere last night in Isla Vista. After watching the film, many of them came up to me and said Mrs. Brown "the film was tight." They said it was a constant thrill ride and was surprised that more people had not heard about it. I said this was an independent film made by former Santa Barbara students who grew up to have amazing personal and professional lives, and dreamed of created a film that would reflect through film, many of the passions and choices of the time of weaved childhood/adulthood experienced during American college life. They understood that the themes of making choices of growth from "child/adult" to adult is what is the ultimate rite of passage that for many during their sojourn in college (especially in S.B.), takes courage. Innately, they knew that the faces and years may have passed for them from their own college days, different by the themes remain unchanged. They were right.