Mindwalk

Mindwalk is a 1990 feature film directed by Bernt Amadeus Capra, based on his own short story, based in turn on the book The Turning Point by his brother Fritjof Capra, the author of the book The Tao of Physics. The majority of the movie is a broad-ranging conversation among three characters: Sonia, a Norwegian physicist who abandoned a lucrative career after discovering that elements of her work were being applied to weapons development; Jack, an American politician attempting to make sense of his recent defeat as a presidential candidate; and Tom, a poet, Jack's close friend, and a disillusioned former political speechwriter, as they wander around Mont Saint-Michel, France. The movie serves as an introduction to systems theory and systems thinking, while insights into modern physical theories such as quantum mechanics and particle physics are also given. Political and social problems, and alternative solutions for them, are another major focus of the film. However, specific problems and solutions are not the main focus; rather, different perspectives are presented through which these problems can be viewed and considered. Sonia Hoffman's perspective is referred to as the holistic, or systems theory, perspective. Thomas Harriman, the poet, recites the poem "Enigmas" by Pablo Neruda (based on the translation by Robert Bly) at the end of the movie, concluding the core of the discussion. The movie was filmed on site at the Mont Saint-Michael and has views of (and scenes conceptually based around) many structures and features there, including the approach over the tidal flats, the cathedral, the walkways, a torture chamber, and a giant, ancient clock mechanism.