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Eyes Beyond Seeing (1995)

Directed by Daniel Cohn, Produced by Randall Ives Emmett, Written by Scott Gerard Jordan, Executive Producer Diane Caroll, Director of Photography David Conn, Music by Joshua Lee Ralph & Daniel Cohn.

Cast:

John -	Harry Hibbits	Father O'Reilly -	Jack Howell
Peter -	Keith Hamilton Cobb	Betty -	Valerie Taylor
Susan -	Jill Brennan	Jake -	Allelion Ruggerio
Frank -	Morton Hall Millen	Phillip -	David Lewellyn
Christina -	Felene Taylor	Young John -	Tommy Upton
Dr. Mike Williams -	Christopher Cooke	Virginia -	Eve Austin
Jack Karsen -	Andrew Pappas	Dr. James Katz -	Roger Ruddick
Dr. Langford -	Arland Russel	Dr. Marsha Hunter -	Marcy Bing
Nurse Linda -	Rebecca Rosen	Henny Youngman patsient -	Henny Youngman

1. If you haven't seen this movie yet:

1.1 How would I describe Daniel R. Cohn's "Eyes Beyond Seeing"?

"Eyes Beyond Seeing" is my favourite movie. I would categorise it as impressionistic drama, although sometimes it has been also called a thriller. It's like Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" where guns and shooting are replaced with questions of faith and trust in the context of loss of loved-ones. A thriller? Well, first and foremost it's psychological drama: creating impressions, looking into faith, trust and love.

Psychiatrist and his patient, who claims to be Jesus Christ, exploring eachother, fighting (...not physically) and trying to solve other's problems in order to not deal with own. And is the patient really Jesus Christ or just mad or both, depends on world-view of audience. Everything is on the eyes of beholder.

While all actions get eventually explanation, for meanings almost none of explanations is really excluded and freedom to interpret therefore left to the audience. Everything is on the eyes of beholder, for both, the characters in the movie and the audience. What anybody sees, can be different to almost any viewer ...

1.2 To see this movie:

The easiest way is to buy the DVD from Daniel Cohn, the director of Eyes Beyond Seeing.

2. If you have already seen the movie: (or hopelessly nosy)

2.1 Review from my view-point:

2.2 Random thoughts and impressions:

2.3 Some of my favourite lines (with comments):

3. Links about Daniel Cohn's "Eyes Beyond Seeing"

2. If you have already seen this movie:

(...or hopelessly nosy...)

2.1 Review from my view-point:

Man walks among people. His attention is smoothing to children. He claims himself to be Jesus Christ and to offer the grace of God. He tries to explain that God hasn't forgotten any of people and loves all of them - all of his children. Man is hospitalised.

One of psychiatrists, Dr. John Harrington becomes obsessed by him and takes him to his patient. Seems, that man's claim, he is the God, affects the psychiatrist at least as much as it affects the patient. Doctor gives to the patient name "Peter".

Who is treating whom? Is Peter healing Dr. Harrington? Does Dr. Harrington uses Peter to treat himself? Depends on viewer I guess.

Seems that doctor wants to see the God in front of him so very much, ... but with proof, with irreversable proof ... and therefore tries desperately to find proofs and to reverse these. And gets the answer from Peter: "I wish I could perform tricks for you, John. But that's no way for faith to be healed."

Step-by-step, it appears that John doesn't trust anything. Step-by-step Peter finds out (with John) why John doesn't have any faith nor trust, why he wants to see God in front of him, what he wants to ask. Once upon a time, when John was a little boy, his mother died in fire. Since this time John had accused God in his mother's death and refused to believe in His existance at the same time. Since that time John has refused to hope/expect anything could go well. And it seems, this all may be just subconscious defence, refusal to admit/remember how fire began - boy played with matches.

Step-by-step John finds out who is Peter. Peter's real name is Jason Chapman. He knows Bible by heart because his father, who was "some kind of a preacher or something", demanded it and beat him (which is why Jason/Peter/Jesus has whip marks on his back). Jason is carpenter. Jason has a son ... dead ... because of Jason's unwariness, by his own hand. Seems that, like the doctor refused to admit what happened, Jason too found subconscious solution, how to avoid dealing with own problems. He prefered to deal with, what God, who has sacrificed His Son and loves all people, all his children, could think and feel, instead of what Jason, who has caused his only child's death, thinks/feels. He prefered to devote himself to solving/dealing with everybody else's problems, to avoid dealing/thinking about own. Next logical step, if one tries to get rid of being himself, would be suicide - the illustrious, magnificent roof-scene - culmination of the movie.

... and finally comes American happy-end ...

2.2 Random thoughts/impressions:

God had two men needing assistance, both capable to help the other, but unable to solve own problem. One looking for God but refusing to believe, other believing and listening guidance, but unable to accept himself and moving towards suicide.

God is everywhere all the time, but where and when someone sees God, depends only on this someone who sees. Peter wasn't Jesus for dr. John Harrington because he said so, but because John saw Jesus in him.

Peter had to heal John at first to make him capable to help Jason.

John lost loved-one and was angry at/accused whole world for this outrage. Jason lost loved-one and wanted to love whole world - impressive!

I loved how Peter, step-by-step, found out where was John's problem, why he wanted and couldn't talk with the God. As Peter said: God doesn't play chess using his children as pieces to a game, moving them around as He wants, but leaves them freedom to choose own paths. Peter/Jesus wasn't God's chess-piece either. Peter had to make the decisions, what to say to somebody, what to do, by himself. At first, he concentrated to what he thought to be the main problem in people's relation with God - saying/showing that God is always with them , that God loves them (and which John finally admitted to be the problem too, in roof: "It's hard to believe in someone who isn't right there, in front of you."). It took time before Peter stumbled across what's really bothering John - losing loved-one. But what Peter said about coincidences, luck: " There are no such thing. These are just word to replace what faith knows only as God ."

Of course, roof-scene was magnificent! But my favourite scene came a bit later. I found the most comforting, that Jason had a friend, loving him exactly as he is, without condemning him for anything he had gone through. My favourite scene was Jason's and Jack's meeting - their scene of "finding the lost son".

2.3 Some (of my favourite) lines (and comments):

Peter to people:
"I have come to take all of you to my mansion where I have prepared a room for each of you." (Mansion-plot was intriguing! Peter being crazy and being Jesus were so twistedly running across.)

Peter to John:
"Are you here today to find out how many toes I have? " (What are the questions people wish to ask from God? -- God sits in front of you, to answer to you in a way you could hear, and you ask: "What day is today?", "What country are we in?", "How many fingers do you have?")

Peter to other patients:
"Coincidence, luck - there are no such things. These are just words to replace what faith knows only as God. " (" Flukes, coincidences " - there's plenty of these in that movie.)

Frank to Peter:
"If you are the king then so am I. You are the king that I am too. " (... which I guess was the base to Peter's talks  - "I am the God", "God is everywhere". I guess that Betty and Frank were ones who understood, what Peter tried to say, the best. But there was only one Peter ... and two men needing him to heal them - John and Frank. I guess Peter could have been able to help Frank, ... but he didn't have time. Peter had a freedom to choose his own path too, he wasn't God's chess-piece either, and I prefer to imagine that Peter had somewhere choice, which would have allowed him to heal Frank too, but he chosed the other path then.)

Peter to John:
"I've always been right here. I make myself known to all people at all the time. It is just that NOW you chosed to see me. " (Except some moments in mansion-theme, Peter's talkings, that he is the God, are quite sane. And if the God is everywhere all the time, where-ever one sees God, there God really is, ... but God was and will be there, when no-one sees too.)

Peter to John:
"I'm not playing chess. I don't move my children around as if they would be pieces to a game. I've given you a gift, a freedom to choose your own bath. " (And Peter wasn't God's chess-piece either - he had to decide by himself what or where to say or do. ...)

Peter to John:
"All the time you thought I wasn't there ... I was! I never left you ... never ... not even during the bad times. "

Peter to John:
"THINGS happen!" (It was their common problem and neither Jason nor John was able to accept this. John had refused to trust/hope that anything could go well, through the most of his life. Jason went crazy and was heading for suicide. ... and solution was that same Peter's answer to question, why bad things happen: "Things happen" - there's no reason to search, ..and surely not forever... , whose fault it is, accuse somebody - things happen.)

Peter to John:
"You've lost someone, haven't you? I'm sorry, I am so sorry. " (I've repeated already too many times, that Peter wasn't God's chess-piece but had to decide by himself what or where to say or do. Here is the main origin - I liked very much how it took time before Peter stumbled across what's really bothering John. " Coincidence, luck ... ")

Peter to John:
"I wish I could perform tricks for you, John, ... but that's no way for faith to be healed."

Peter to John:
"To believe in someone or some thing ... without proof. It is true love. What greater gift is there?"

Peter to John:
"Help yourself!" (Yeah, who was the doctor and who was patient, who tried to help whom?)

Peter to John:
 "I've sacrificed my son to you! "

Peter to Christina:
"I got to go to the King's mansion."

Peter to John:
"I am the God that gave you life,
God, that feels your pain,
God, that protects you when you sleep,
and gives you peace when you die.
I never left you, you left me."