Sincere thanks to Sarah Knutson from Maryland in the USA for the following review of The Insatiable Moon.

She touches on an element of the film that sometimes flies under the radar – the spiritual dimension of the story. Sarah acknowledges that the story of Arthur is “a journey that bears much in common to spiritual seekers of many faiths and traditions”. The Insatiable Moon is a celebration of the raw and vibrant soulfulness that permeates human life – unregulated and unacknowledged by many formal religious institutions. It explores the territory on the margins of society, where, in Leonard Cohen’s words “There’s a crack, a crack, in everything – that’s how the light gets in”. Hearing voices and seeing visions was once the hallmark of divine inspiration – now it is dismissed routinely as ‘madness’, without any further investigation. But what if we are cutting ourselves off from a source of genuine insight?

Good to see the movie getting these sorts of thoughtful reaction from America.

Insatiable Moon: What if the Voice You Hear is God…?

Insatiable Moon is a deep and profound story of a human life that, itself, is richly endowed with the kinds of deep and profound stories that make life most meaningful  – as well as interesting, challenging, troubling  – and worth the effort of daily living.

The film is loosely based on the life of Arthur of Ponsonby, a small but real historical figure who, in the 1990s, lived in a boarding house for the “mentally ill” in a rapidly-gentrifying suburb outside of Auckland, New Zealand.  The film chronicles Arthur’s choice to listen to the “voice of God” – quite literally a voice that he hears in his head – and claim the identity vested in him as “The Second Son of God.”  Whether in spite of, or because of, his unique spiritual vision, we watch Arthur touch people from all walks of life in remarkable and transformative ways that render typical social, cultural, racial, economic and educational distinctions irrelevant.

In addition to Arthur’s impact on the lives of his friends, neighbors and community, the film explores the impact of Arthur’s convictions on his own life.  This includes Arthur’s social marginalization as a “mental patient” and his subsequence psychiatric treatment that, however well-intentioned at the outset, goes tragically awry.

We glimpse his struggles with spiritual journey – a journey that bears much in common to spiritual seekers of many faiths and traditions.  After an initial pink cloud phase in which divine favor follows Arthur’s snapping fingers like electric current in search of positive charge, we watch his soul-wrenching confusion as life’s inherent contradictions and messiness intrude and solitary inspiration no longer proves a reliable guide.

In nearly allegorical fashion, the story of “the Second Son of God” proceeds to resurrect Gethsemane and then Calvary as the Arthur births his own journey to the cross anew in a context germane to contemporary times.  Far from coming across as tired or trite, however, the effect is brave, compelling – a refreshing divergence from the uncritical cynicism that has become as prevalent and socially obligatory in this age as uncritical religiosity has been accused of being in prior ones. Viewers and cast alike find themselves in deepening participation in an emergent dialectic between the infectious appeal of a life undertaken in sincerity and good faith, counterpoised by the real-world disappointment and heartbreak that such vulnerability can open up in practical experience.

The true miracle of Insatiable Moon lies in its deft ability to transcend this inherent contradiction in a genuinely believable vision of hope, renewed life and redemptive possibility.  From the humble wilderness of one man’s uncharted mental territory, Insatiable Moon calls us out of the “normal” insanity driven by profit and social exclusion, and into a world of reexamined priorities in which the needs of human hearts -not wallets –rule the day.

This film is a rare “altar call” with universal appeal to people of conscience and goodwill everywhere.   Don’t miss it.

Sarah Knutson

Mad activist/ consultant with Power of Peer Consulting and On Our Own Wellness & Recovery Center in Frederick, Maryland, USA.

Ms. Knutson has studied Pastoral Counseling at Loyola University in Maryland, USA, practised therapy with Catholic Charities, and served as an attorney with the US Department of Justice.  

 

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