Into the Mind

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

I have never seen such beautiful cinematography so utterly wasted. The first couple of minutes were sort of WOW, but with an edge of when is this thing going to actually start and after 20 minutes of the same it just got more and more annoying.

It's a pity but I really think this film will be used as an example in film school about how it is is possible to get the visuals stunning but bore and annoy your audience with lack of narrative.

After 20 minutes I started to feel insulted, what the hell does a Tibetan monk have to do with some skiers, one of the first lines in the film was "dude that looks gnarly' ...Oh please....

Please no more so mo CGI shots of eagles...I actually stopped watching after 30 minutes, I would have preferred half the production values and double the human interest and narrative.

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.

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.

Wow, was I impressed after the first five minutes...

Wow, was I overwhelmed after the first ten minutes...

Wow, was I speechless after the first 15 minutes...

and wow, was I bored after the first twenty minutes...

It never stops. It never comes to rest. It just keeps going and going and going. Between the tides, night and day, spring and autumn, summer and winter, life and death, breathe in, breathe out, jump up, jump down, vrooooom, it just never stops.

This is INSANELY good footage of, well, kinda everything. This is not a freeride movie, it's not a spiritual movie either, it's not an ongoing introduction clip of great athletes, it's not a permanent product placement film either. It's an ongoing flick about showing off how much budget was burnt. It is meant to feel inspiring - yet it quickly becomes tiring. Have I already already mentioned that it just doesn't stop? It keeps bombarding the viewer with probably the best footage ever assembled for a film with this, uhm, theme.

Everything is so perfect, ...for a moment. But its relentlessness to stay top notch in every second ruins the whole adventure. You can't get attached to anything because the film won't let you. It just speeds on in light speed and doesn't give you any insight on anything except pure awesomeness. In the end, after seeing and hearing all this expensive material you end up feeling kinda empty.

Also the "chapters" are very forced. In fact there are no chapters as there is no developing story. Instead we have very cryptic titles for the forthcoming music video (called "chapter"). It actually makes me sad. There was obviously so much potential, so much money, so many talented people - but in the end the film appears like a life long trailer of itself.