Metaphysics Archives - Deep Focus Philosophy

The Fountain + Perennialism

Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain is not a film about death. It is a film about what lies beyond it. Across three interwoven timelines, the film traces the journey of Tomas and Isabel through different incarnations, each struggling against mortality, against loss, and against the limitations of the flesh. But The Fountain is not a typical grounded meditation on grief; it is a cinematic journey to transcendence.

View Post

The Tree of Life + Nature vs Grace

Terrence Malick’s magnum opus The Tree of Life is striving to be more than a film; it is a philosophical meditation. One which doesn’t unfold in the traditional sense but drifts like memory, weaving between cosmic grandeur and childhood recollection, between whispered prayers and the silent weight of suffering. It’s a film that asks the biggest questions—why are we here, why do we suffer, and where do we find grace?

View Post

Stalker + Art

Andrei Tarkovski's Stalker is a profound journey through existential, metaphysical, and epistemological themes which, compelled by its transcendental style, implores its audience to meditate, look within, and therefore becomes something more than mere philosophy, doctrine, idea, ideology, logic, outlook, reasoning, theory, thought, truth, wisdom, ectara. It becomes a living thing. A conscious art.

View Post

Metaphysics

Ordet + Faith

Carl Theodor Dreyer's film Ordet released in 1955 as The Word stands out as a powerful portrayal of faith and doubt in the annals of cinema's history. One in which Dreyer explores the spaces that exist between these two enduring concepts and sets it all within a quaint Danish village where these contrasting beliefs clash head on.

View Post

Metaphysics

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring + Karma

In the film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring director Kim Ki Duk creates a story set around a floating monastery that serves as a backdrop for the cycles of life. We, the audience, see these cycles both through the changing of the seasons as well as through the different stages of life the characters experience. The film meditates on the essence of life, how nature changes through different seasons, and how this mirrors our own journey of desires and attachments leading towards

View Post

Metaphysics

Psycho + Dualism

In the film Psycho, by Alfred Hitchcock, we are not just led through a tale of suspense and terror, we are immersed in a profound exploration of human psychology. The chilling events that take place at the motel and the deep character study of Norman Bates offers a platform to delve into the interplay between the visceral violence and our unconscious minds. A theme deeply rooted in the psychological concept of duality. By examining Norman Bates’ complex persona through the perspectives of Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychoanalytics and Carl Jung’s study of archetypes we can uncover the layers of this dual identity.

View Post

Metaphysics

The Big Lebowski + Taoism

There are few characters who embody a laid-back philosophical vibe as effortlessly, as Jeffrey Lebowski, affectionately known as "The Dude." The cult favorite film The Big Lebowski by the Coen Brothers is renowned for its story and unique humor. Yet beneath its surface lies a connection to the Zen and Taoist philosophy.

View Post