Ariel Phenomenon

This movie has everything and anything you need to start believing in this topic. This is not just a bunch of clips put together but indeed a human account of a event that shocked so many. It takes you to the kids being interviewed in all age groups. To the aftermath of the kids grown up and recalling the events with the maturity and wisdom of their own. To see the BBC reporter admit he was overwhelmed and shaken from this event to the facial expressions of the kids will keep your mind captivated to the end. This movie is passed well and the edits keep the story on a human level. At the end of the story you will want to rewatch it again. Finally I will say having 64 to 70 kids tell a story of such a life changing event and anyone who knows kids and young adults truly knows they are telling the truth. Five ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars.

The events, witnesses, archival footage work is really extensive but unfortunately all of this effort suffers a lot from poor editing work. 1h and 40 minutes long that could have easily been 30 minutes long instead and become an extremely compelling documentary. The layout of the facts is way too scattered, the focus of the narrative is all over the place often going on tangents that don't really feel relevant or necessary.

The Phenomenon documentary (Directed by James Fox) covers all of the relevant parts of this same event in its last 10 minutes and does a fantastic job at it.

7 of 10 because of the extensive archival work done but again, from a documetaristic point of view it really needed more triage done in my opinion.

I've been a lurking member of IMDB since, almost, its inception on the Internet as we know it today.

I've never been compelled to write a review of a film until now.

For centuries, people have been experiencing things all over the map of what we, traditionally, would conceive as outside of known reality.

What body or institution defines and catalogues our perceived worldviews or reality?

I'm perfectly happy embracing the unknowns of our universe and existence. I wake up every day looking forward to having more questions.

The awesomeness and wonder of it all is what drives me.

This film screams that sentiment.

Try to be a blessing to your self and everyone else around you.

I've been admittedly frustrated with the time it's taken for this movie to be released, but I'm so happy it finally was. This incident is so incredibly compelling. I'm hoping once they receive some funds from rentals, there will be some additional publicity, and hopefully gets picked up by a streaming service so more people can see it. This is an incredible story about not only these children seeing other-worldly beings and things that can't be explained, but the importance of giving people a voice and listening to experiences, something John Mack was very passionate about. Learning about these children changed my life, and I'm a little jealous of all you who will be discovering this story for the first time!

There is possibly too much to say about this story... this encounter... this phenomenon. Which is probably why it took the director some 15 years to research and pull together the preliminary edit of 100 minutes. It's a documentary that was shopped around to would-be distributors, who apparently advised that the film should have more of a commercial appeal. Truly, even in its current form, the movie deserves a wide global audience. It's an authentic account which is perfectly suited for our cultural moment. As a planetary civilization, we are waking up from history. We are at an inflection point in our understanding of ourselves and our place in the cosmos.

Depending on one's perspective, humanity has existed in concert with other intelligent beings since forever. Whether they're angels or aliens or some other kind of dimensional life, these beings are part of a larger natural order. This reality has been experienced and expressed across cultures, around the world, for millennia. Again, it's the sort of mystery that could easily be explored in a longer documentary. There are so many ways to frame the telling of the tale, which sets the stage for an inevitable paradigm shift.

Suffice it to say, for whatever the film may lack in production savvy, it more than makes up for with journalistic integrity and genuine compassion. With unassuming precision, the documentary deftly weaves together many testimonies; from the individuals who witnessed the remarkable event, to the indigenous people for whom these occurrences are part of our common spiritual tapestry. As with all good art, the personal becomes universal. What begins as a very private wrestling to make sense, transforms into a public sharing for our own consideration.

At heart, then, this movie is about honoring those who have had these deeply confounding experiences. These are things that happen. People need the space and support to process such extraordinary moments. Whether we're ready or able, individually and collectively, to fold the mystery of these experiences into our worldview, the truth is that humanity is nestled within a grander reality that's both visible and invisible to our understanding. As Shakespeare reminds us, "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy."

Clearly the phenomenon of otherworldly beings interacting with humanity needs further investigation, on all levels. We may begin to unpuzzle some of the meaning and purpose behind such encounters. In the documentary itself, of all the astounding, mind-boggling recollections, one young girl explains a message that was communicated directly into her mind, through her conscience. She said: "I think they want people to know that we're actually making harm on this world, and we mustn't get too technologed (sic)." Wisdom is as wisdom does.

While "Ariel Phenomenon" is a very competent, strongly conceived introduction to the reality of this earthly mystery, it should also be noted that the director leans heavily in favor of what's known as the "extraterrestrial hypothesis." There is an implicit assumption that the beings are from distant planets in our physical, sensible universe. Meanwhile, other luminaries who have studied these phenomena for decades (e.g., Jacques Vallee) would be underwhelmed to discover that our cosmic interlopers are merely extraterrestrial. All the evidence suggests something much stranger than we can imagine.

In this spirit, it's somehow poetically (or mystically) appropriate that the Zimbabwe event occurred at a place called the Ariel School. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Ariel has the meaning of "Lion of God," whose angelic mission is elemental dominion over the earth. We may be under the gentle guidance -- and, at times, heavy-handed admonition -- of an invisible cohort with whom we share this majestic world. Through the impressions meticulously curated in this documentary, we are invited and challenged to broaden our worldview. Outside one of the school's classrooms, a children's poster of the solar system quietly reads: "We All Live Together."