Descartes

Part of Roberto Rossellini's Italian TV series on philosophers in history (other titles: Socrates, Blaise Pascal), this three hour chunk of television is, like the other titles, riveting in its own unique way. Granted it is a talk fest, but imagine listening to the leading lights of Renaissance Italy, Holland, and France talking for three hours on the subject dearest to their hearts: scientific investigation and its relation to the Church (which meant only one thing at the time, of course: the Roman Catholic church). It is an edifying three hours, but, this may surprise you, a very entertaining three hours as well. Negative points, however, to the rather annoying Mario Nascimbene score (though annoying in a way that doesn't really distract from the action). Rossellini's attention to quotidian detail is always fascinating. (In "Socrates," for example, Socrates goes to market, and his fish is wrapped to go -- in a piece of lettuce!) Shown at the Cinematheque Francaise in a Rossellini complete retrospective, in a print that was, unfortunately, badly faded. But that's videotape for you. FOLLOW-UP, summer 2009: My title is no longer valid, now that the Criterion Eclipse series has released this in a pristine print. The score (now that I have recognized that all the Nascimbene scores for Rossellini are rather interesting wallpaper) annoyed me not at all. While less well-sustained than "Blaise Pascal" (a major masterpiece), "Cartesius" is still quite interesting, though maybe not exactly riveting, for Descartes, it would seem, was not as fully integrated a personality as was Pascal. This is nicely summed up in a scene where Descartes is about to abandon (for work) his child and her mother. "She is beautiful because she is perfect," he says. "For me she is a miracle," says Helene, the mother. "No, she is not a miracle. She is a perfect machine of nature."

At first glance this is the most tedious of Rossellini's portraits, double the length, with even more repetitive talk about a more abstract subject: the correct use of mind. The character is portrayed in the most distant light of all. The tensions are the most faint: Descartes has to fight prejudice like Socrates in a previous film by Rossellini but he's never really troubled, he has to worry about the Church but he can safely publish in tolerant Holland.

The most interesting way to experience the man would be in the course of making his observations: it would have to be visual, internal, in space. Not very educational; a different thing altogether than Rossellini tried with any of these things. Instead we have only the expositions of thought in long monologues, the sober history.

It's all there in a roundabout way. In a nutshell what Descartes was doing was this: the senses are unreliable and I have reason to doubt them, the world tentative, the only thing that is concretely known to me is that 'I think'. This was his anchor from which to reconstruct all the other stuff.

Now the observations are central in the sense that we needed someone to come up with the first intuitions so we could have a picture of what to correct and overcome. Indispensable in his time when mind was all sorts of muddled ideas bundled together, with hindsight we can see that in his quest for absolute clarity he severed a lot of vital nuance that we've been putting back in.

So, tedious and dry if you stick to the thought, educative. But if you see past his 'I' that thinks and thinks and into the pooled space of life in which it appears?

Rossellini's Socrates offered warm interrogation. Descartes does haughty exposition. Socrates was also concerned with drawing limits to reason but it was to free thought. Descartes wants to make it concrete. One man therapeutic, the other arrogant and dogmatic in his way. This is why Rossellini includes his erroneous views on the boiling heart and fluid heavens around an immovable earth, we're meant to see a sometimes presumptuous man who is prone to error as much as anyone.

One reviewer seems to think that Rossellini undertook the project to celebrate reason over prejudice, not quite of course. That's only one side of it. Rossellini contemplates both sides; and does it with the hand of a cinematic master.

Another reviewer deems this worthy for classroom use; I agree, it's a solid exposition and likely the only one on the subject that we're going to have for a long time. But I'd also draw attention to this mechanical view of life that results from it; people are like trees in a forest Descartes muses, inanimate nature, his newborn baby is a perfect machine of nature, in the end when he grieves he wants to 'extinguish the senses' and withdraw to reflect.

(Exercise: put the man to the test, try to not think. It's okay to learn stuff, but how about we actually see our own mind for a change? Sit somewhere quiet, eyes closed, relax the body, focus on the breath thinking nothing. When the mind strays in thought gently bring it back. This is the preliminary for Buddhist meditation, so you can snoop around the web for better instructions, the concept is the same. Descartes was not trying to model some other 'I', it was this one in his own mind. What happens? Where is I?)

I saw it more than a good film but as magnificent trip. Not across a rich, beautiful life or great work of a remarkable director, but as a wise try to explore the meanings of life. It is more than beautiful, right or fair portrait of rene Descartes. It is one of films for who the term memorable has so many significances. So, just a profound useful experience.

It's a deep sorrow when I saw meager votes and seven reviews concerning so prominent thinker that the world ever had, the French René Descartes is the father of modern philosophy and mathematics as well, dared bring the lights over the outdated scholastic system from Greece and developing later the Cartesian Method which comprises in the doubt and skepticism under the analytical thinking about everything.

The outstanding and prolific director Robert Rossellini already previously made others biographic movies over Socrates, Blaise Pascal and Agostino d"Ippona, on Descartes he had a broad scope of source materials to build up a best screenplay to make a movie with utmost genuineness, also embellished by so magnificent thoughts from their books.

The storyline spans since his final days at Jesuit School at La Fleche around twenty years old and moves to Paris, in this point the director skips Descartes on Universities that he attended, maybe by lack of source material probably, then he headed to Holland that period of time a most advanced place on the Europe in every facet, meeting with Isaac Beeckman who really aroused its interesting in Mathematics, therefore the fidgety Descartes soon travelled to Bohemia where gains the fondness of Princess Elizabeth, wherever he goes he found a shelter from the scholars and sages, due his wisdom whose preceded himself opening countless dors.

Meanwhile finishing his works and starting printing he was very concerned over the Church's reaction, due what had happened with Galileo arrested by the Pope, advised by his former Jesuit teacher, during this time he gets sexual involving with his servant Helena, who gave a girl named Francine, he never married her, nevertheless never drop out her, sadly the child died five years later, further the movies doesn't display his life at Sweden and his relation with Queen Christina, neither his remaining days at Stockholm and his death.

I consider Descartes a man from another world, someone which was born time after time with a regular gap until was born another genius, then we shall see how the mankind will drives along in steady progress, Descartes quite sure is one my favorite Philosopher, until unknown by the majority of the human race, as shown at IMDB where gathered one best brainy people which consist in this planet, the numbers of votes spoke for themselves!!

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.25

The life of Rene Descartes ('Cartesius' in Latin) is quite interesting for many people. Considering his many contributions to mathematics, philosophy and science, it's no wonder that someone has made a film about him. However, and this is important, HOW many people will want to watch this?! In this age of "Batman", "American Idol" and the like, just which people will watch "Cartesius"? Certainly a small--a VERY small--minority of the population. Many won't understand his concepts but most simply won't care. So, although director Roberto Rossellini crafted a very fine film here, it just doesn't have a bit market. And, it's a shame, as it is a quality project throughout--a very quiet and intellectual project. So, if you are into math, science, philosophy or even history (and who isn't, right?!), then by all means watch and enjoy. Otherwise, you will find all this very tough going--though I did find the music very strange and distracting at times.