Event

Examined Life

(Astra Taylor, Canada, 2008, 35mm, 90 min)

Astra Taylor (Zizek!) takes philosophy off of the high shelves a bit of fresh air in this documentary. Beginning with the idea that "the unexamined life is not worth living" the film uses the philosophers favored technique to ponder a question: the simple stroll. A moving camera over serene urban backgrounds highlights some of the greatest thinkers of modern times. Slavoj Zizek, Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer, Kwame Anthony Appiah and Martha Nussbaum walk or row over a lake discussing what is on their minds. Intimate, timely and fascinating conversations develop as theory and practice become accessible to elements of our everyday lives. Examined Life is an unusual and necessary documentary that speaks directly to every viewer.

A playful riposte to the notion that movies are for turning ones mind off. Variety

Thoroughly engaging...the kind of intellectual fix only a documentary can deliver. Toronto Globe and Mail