Into the Mind

First off, this is not All.I.Can., this is a whole different beast of a film. All.I.Can. can be taken literally by the fact Sherpa Cinemas did all they could to produce the best ski movie and try to drive home images that should be making people question the reality in front of them. Into the Mind tries to explore this world of reality from the viewpoint of the "hero". Whether or not this hero's adventure is based off some true experiences of the skiers in this film is unknown to me, but i thought the characters challenges and life encounters were done at a realistic level if you were to put yourself in his ski boots. I get why people call it pretentious, its the same reason our movie industry is falling apart, if a film maker actually tries to convince people to look at things differently they immediately get defencive of the fact they may be doing something wrong the way they are living now. But the point of this movie, I feel, was to push past this barrier of caring about how you were in the past or present and instead, always strive to be better for the future. This message is definitely hidden beneath some enviormental warnings, mountain community angst (they have been there longer and thus believe they deserve to bask in its beauty more than the new guy on the hill who dresses and tries to act like them, but will never be like them) and the nonstop barrage of images which are used to excite the audience into feeling.

Overall, I would rate it a 9/10 as a film and 6/10 as a ski film. I am undecided as to which movie, All.I.Can. or Into the Mind, that i enjoy more. I think each one depends on the mood you choose to enter the film with. High octane energy with a need for inspiration or a more story centered plot that looks to not only inspire but change what gets you inspired.

I sought out this movie as a result of seeing Meru and being fascinated with the three individuals Renan Ozturk, Jimmy Chin, and Conrad Anker. I like to follow actors, directors, etc and like to look at their repertoire. While I suggest an optional overview be made available to view before hand explaining what the viewer is about to see, I thought it was amazing in its cinematography. I am not a skier, snowboarder or climber and did not expect a ski movie so was not disappointed. I am an artist and appreciated what I could grasp of their visual representation. I only wish I knew more about the meaning and reason for the inclusion of the various elements I could not make sense of.

I was really excited to watch this movie after seeing the trailer. After about 10 minutes I eagerly waited for when the movie would start. It turned out the entire movie was one long intro/trailer.

If I had one major complaint, it would have to be the storyline. This movie looks like a bunch of good footage that was edited into a movie with no prior forethought or planning.

The movie peaked when the one skier ended up in an avalanche and trailed off from there with the fake footage of him in the hospital. I couldn't help but lose interest when I see a guy supposedly on a ventilator while he's not actually intubated.

Like others said, it had so much potential with such great footage but ended up just being boring waste of time and money. Don't waste your 13 bucks. If you really must, rent it first and I'm sure you'll be annoyed enough to never need to watch it again.

This is (with a few exceptions) a visual masterpiece, and the storytelling is extremely beautiful and clever. Just don't expect a ski movie.

First, why is it so good? The cinematography and editing is some of the best i have ever seen. There is a lot of eye-candy, and if you don't pay attention the film might strike you as a long music video, and you miss the actual story. Every frame is very thoroughly chosen to represent thoughts, memories and feelings in the mind of the main character. The best word to describe Into The Mind is innovative, and there is no movie quite similar to it except maybe All I Can.

The film has received quite a few negative comments from frustrated and disappointed hardcore fans of ski movies. I completely understand why some are disappointed, the film is simply not primarily a ski movie. Into The Mind is, as I see it, first of all an exploration of some of the most fundamental aspects of being a human being, and it only uses extreme skiing as a symbol in its metaphorical (and strictly visual) way of telling the story. Sounds pretentious? Absolutely, if you want skiing and think that all other scenes are just there to look good (and believe me, this is planet earth-quality photography). A very CGI-intense scene with snowboarder Benji Farrow, and a segment of Callum Pettit growing a fake beard have received most criticism, both of which are very symbolic and, of course, look exactly the way the filmmakers wanted them to look. I don't believe the connection some people make between not liking the movie, and not getting the movie. Into the mind simply isn't everyones cup of tea.

My guess is that this movie will continue to stir up feelings, and it will probably be widely appreciated beyond the skiing-society. Hopefully, for the prodigious Sherpas Cinema, this is a step towards even more thought-provoking films, which does not necessarily involve skiing.

9/10

Beautiful enchanting artistic movie of epic proportions in my humble opinion. To all the naysayers on here looking for your typical run of the mill warren miller ski movies galore, then look away. To anyone who wants to see a gorgeous artistic masterpiece, then you've found the right place. There are so many ridiculously awesome scenes featuring amazing hi- def footage that is interwoven into a poetic and enchanting storyline.

The kind of footage in this film reminds me of other beautiful movies of similar genre, like Baraka, Samsara, the Koyaanisqatsi(or qatsi) trilogy, chronos, Anima Munda, etc. The kind of movie that shows breathtaking scenes of nature, people and movement.

The theme present in this movie, is Man's undying thirst to ride the waves of water, in all its forms. To dance, swim, play and dream of water. Whether its skiing, snowboarding or surfing, or dreaming. It's Man vs Water....and it's an amazing flick.

4 Thumbs up, if only I had that many thumbs!