Customer Reviews

Conversations With God

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

"Do you *really* want to know the answers to the questions you're asking?" - God (from the movie)

In 1990, a man named Neale Donald Walsch experienced a car accident resulting in a broken neck, which propelled him into a downward spiral of job loss, poverty, and homelessness. Eventually, he began to ask existential questions that many people ask, "What is the meaning of life? Why am I here?"

In 1995, he heard a voice asking, "Have you had enough yet? Are you ready now?"

God had come calling to answer those questions--and many more. This question and answer format served as the basis for the Conversations with God series, as well as the books What God Wants and Home with God.

Conversations with God the movie dramatizes events leading up to those mystical dictations, flashing back to Neale's struggles with finding a job--and even finding food in alleyway dumpsters. Alone and with minimal personal belongings, Neale lived in a tent, scrounged soda cans for money, and pounded the pavement in the hopes of securing a stable job.

Slowly, things begin looking up when he gets a job as a weekend DJ and finds a decent place to live. But when the radio station becomes bankrupt, Neale begins to write down his frustrations and questions--and the results were an incredible gift to humanity.

I admit, after seeing the debacle Indigo (which starred Neale Donald Walsch), I didn't have high hopes for this movie. However, not only was I very surprised at the quality of Conversations with God, I was deeply moved. (And it was a Divine touch I sorely needed at the time.)

I was unaware of Neale's background until I watched this movie, and realizing what he had come through made his books even more meaningful. Stephen Simon, the co-founder of the Spiritual Cinema Circle and director of Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come, also directed the CWG movie.

The musical score was beautiful and moving, as was the cinematography. The writing was tight, with no word wasted, and the performances were truly top-notch. Henry Czerny gave an incredibly accurate portrayal as Neale--even capturing Neale's mannerisms and speech patterns. The supporting cast was also astounding--so props to the casting director, too!

At times incredible heartbreaking, Conversations with God can move you closer to your own divinity, encouraging you to realize that you're the one you've been waiting for...and that God will never leave you or forsake you.

Here are but a few wise nuggets from the movie:

"Instead of worrying about what people think about you--concentrate on what YOU think of you."

"Don't disqualify or marginalize the message because the messenger is fallible."

"What is God's most important message to humanity? `You've got me all wrong.'"

"My most common communication is through feeling. Feeling is the language of the soul. If you want to know what's true for you about something, look to how you're feeling about it."

"A life without expectations of specific results--that's freedom."

"Ask what would love do now and I'll be there always--in all ways."

"I am not concerned about your worldly success...only you are. You are not to worry about making a living. True masters are those who have chosen to make a life--not a living. Go ahead--do whatever you really love. Do nothing else! You have so little time. Why would you want to waste it doing something you don't want to do? That isn't a living--it's a DYING."

I found the Conversations with God DVD quite synchronistic. At one point, a question about personal direction popped into my head--and the phrase about worldly success answered it specifically...mere seconds later! Several times, I was moved to tears--and I was grateful for the reminder that God is as close as our breath--and that answers are readily available to our most personal questions. (Truth be told, it's more like I bawled my eyes out--especially during the last few minutes of the movie.)

Although I rented this movie through NetFlix, I loved it so much that I'm buying a copy through Amazon.com. It's definitely a movie to buy, especially since there are so many levels of meaning and wisdom found throughout.

Poignant, surprising, but ultimately soaring with inspiration, the Conversations with God movie arrived at the perfect time in my life. After reading several of Neale's books, it was fascinating to come to understand what he had been through prior to his revelations--and how this all-too-human vessel came to channel profound wisdom that has changed thousands of lives over the last decade.

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

This film was billed as being based on the "Conversations with God" books but the reality is that this film is the life story of author Neale Donald Walsch from homelessness to best selling author. When the "conversation with God" does come, it's halfway through the movie and lasts all of about 10 minutes, and it's more of a lecture than a "conversation." Though making a film of those books would be nearly impossible, I had hopes that someone's creative genius would come up with a way to translate the ideas of the book series into relatable situations, little dramatic examples sprinkled throughout the film. I did not expect what came across as a vanity project on the part of Neale Donald Walsch to have his life story played out on screen.

Having said that, aside from the mistitle and claims, the film does do something rare that most films don't cover: homelessness. We rarely see homelessness in films and this film humanizes the very people we often pass on the street without a word or glance. This film also shows a lot of Oregon, with scenes in Portland and Ashland. And I absolutely adored the cute, quirky redhead young lady on the bus. There are some spiritual gems in this film, particularly the phrase one should always ask oneself: "what would love do now?"

While I'm inclined to give this film 3 stars, I think it's great that more spiritual films are being made and want to encourage the development of that genre of films by supporting films like these, no matter how much they can be improved upon. I certainly wish that "CWG" would have been a much different movie or advertised more as a bio-pic than being an adaptation of the book series. The films "Peaceful Warrior" and "The Celestine Prophecy" were better done, but I still did walk away from the theater inspired by this film and it made me feel more compassionate towards homeless people, which Portland has a lot of, so it can't be all bad.

The difference between this movie and other spiritual films (The Secret, What the Bleep, Celestine Prophecy) is that this movie shows you how to be, what to do, and how to get to god. It demands that the spiritual walk is one of compassion and human commitment, and not one of manifesting a million dollars overnight or learning how to heal plants or move atoms with your mind. This very human message will come as a disappointment for some who are looking for a get-spiritual-quick scheme from this movie. This is not a film about spiritual giftedness, it is a film about walking your very human walk, dealing with the opportunities for compassion that we pass on our way to work every morning, and learning that every moment is an opporunity to live your own conversation with god.

I was disappointed with the movie quite a bit.... I was expecting the movie to involve more of the content, depth, emotion of the books rather than just be a movie about his life while he was writing the books. Almost seems like a marketing piece for the book. It unfortunately seems to fit quite well with pyramid schemes, and those online marketer types who have secrets of making money online only to never have any legitimate business other than teaching other people how to make money online.

Absolutely nothing against Mr. Walsch OR the books. The movie just felt very much lacking.

For a spiritually enlightening movie, I would recommend 'Peaceful Warrior' instead.

Or just read the books.

This movie was very well done, and Henry Czerny is remarkable in it. There is one scene in particular, where Neale is at his lowest and just desperate, which moved me to tears. When you watch the movie, you'll know just which scene I'm referring to. Czerny is superb throughout this film, and in this poignant scene especially.

As I watched this DVD, my husband came in to the room to sit with me during the last 20 minutes of the film. He watched quietly, then asked me "WHAT movie is this?" I told him, and although I read the Conversations With God books years ago, my husband does not share the same areas of interest that I do, so he had never heard of them. I explained the background of books and the author to him.

He wanted to see the entire movie, (which was surprising to me since this movie doesn't have a single explosion or car chase in it) so the next night I watched it again, this time with him. When it was over, he asked me if I still have the books. "Of course!" (I'll have those books forever). He asked me if I would find them so he can read them.

Now, this is a man who was raised Catholic and has felt disconnected from the church for quite some time. Not from God, but from church. There is a difference. I can't help but wonder if this movie will bring an entire group of people to re-discover these books.

For those not familiar with the Conversations with God books this will act in some measure as an introduction. It doesn't particularly outline the concepts of the books, but is rather the biopic of Neale Donald Walsch, and thus more a re-telling of elements of his later book Friendship with God. I recommend that people watch this entertaining film as a true story of how one human being with many problems finally (and in the most amazing circumstances!) found a way to his own spirituality - then go and read the first few books - they will make a lot more sense then.
Having met Neale on a couple of occasions, three things in relation to this film: 1, Henry Czerny does a great job of the difficult task of playing Neale and relating his story, looking spookily like him and capturing some of Neale's mannerisms and attitude to life; 2, the film does a good job of capturing the essence of how we can connect to the deeper more spiritual parts of ourselves; 3,in no way is this film a "vanity project" as another reviewer of this film has claimed. Neale would be the first person to agree that he has vanity, I'm sure! But anyone who has met Neale, listened to him talking, or read his books in detail, knows why he made this film and it has nothing to do with vanity...

Fascinating true story of the author's life, extreme adversity and circumstances that ultimately led to the outpouring of divine messages. I've read the CWG books and they DID change my spiritual perspective and sparked an inner discernment that resonated truth within me.
This is a wonderful movie and brilliantly acted. I highly recommend it!

Though I am very much into this genre of books, those by Millman, Bach, Redfield and so on, I've always had a hard time really taking in conversations with God. I mean, where did this guy come from, where does he get off suggesting that one morning or day, God decides to just start talking to him. How am I suppose to swallow the idea of just some regular joe, being special enough or deserving enough to get to have this conversation with God. So in that alone, as great as so much of the messages are within the pages of these books, I have never been able to entirely accept them. Then along comes this movie. Tells an amazing story of a man who literally bottoms out in life. Who reaches a point that those of us who have/had the money to buy this book, pray to god to never reach. We get to see a man ready for good reason to just thrown in the towel and give up on life, finally hear a voice and tell him to get up. And from that experience comes a pouring out of words creating the book conversations with God. You know what I did when the movie ended? I went to my book shelf, pulled out Book 1 and started reading it again, with a whole new perspective on where these words came from. If you are a conversations with God fan, you must see this movie!!

This movie has been an eye opener for me. I never realized how much God is truly a part of our everyday lives. The end of this movie reminded me of the poem "Footsteps". It also gave me a different perspective on the homeless, and how harsh society treats them. It could happen to any of us! It doesn't take much. I will no longer take ANYTHING for granted.

I read the books a long time ago so when I saw the film it reinspired me. The story is about how the book came about. Haven't we all been at a point where we seem to "have lost ourselves?" The choice Walsch was given and then made was to not give up. I loved how the movie showed how angels and God himself helped out, opened doors, and helped put up a tent. The film reminded me how we often don't see or realize just how much does happen in our lives without us noticing. It was a great movie and Henry Czerny did an awesome job as Walsh. I honestly will never look at a homeless person in the same way again.