Text Messages from the Universe

Text Messages from the Universe

2019 · 62 min · ★ 6.0 · Music, Documentary, Fantasy

A film that immerses its audience in subjective states of consciousness they might experience when they die, imagining what they can see and think and hear in a seamless but fragmentary flow of poetic images, words and music. The viewer undertakes a journey into their own interior world of dreams and projections in which time and space, and cause and effect logic, are turned on their heads. Text Messages from the Universe is inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a text which guides souls on their journey of 49 days through the 'Bardo', or intermediate state, between dying and rebirth.

Directed by Richard James Allen · Written by Richard James Allen

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 51m together

Text Messages from the Universe

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

A close match in mood and era.

More from Richard James AllenSee all →

Blood OrangeBlood Orange · 2017
Blood Orange
★ 6.02017
MovieDramaHorror
A blind man tormented by the mysterious disappearance of his dog, is one day visited by a sadistic childhood friend, igniting a disturbing journey of self discovery.
Waltzing TildaWaltzing Tilda · 2017
Waltzing Tilda
★ 4.02017
MovieAdventureComedy
When Tilda wakes up to find herself the last human on earth she goes on a journey along with her bunny rabbit Shane, experiencing both the immense joy and crippling loneliness of a world without humans.
I want to make a film about womenI want to make a film about women · 2019
I want to make a film about women
2019
MovieDocumentary
'I want to make a film about women' is a speculative documentary love letter to Russian constructivist women. The new Soviet Union of the 1920s championed equality for women and great innovation in the creative arts. Until it didn't. Looking back at that time, history remembers the men who were celebrated and then shut down. But women were there, too, and they were influential, powerful and brilliant. 'I want to make a film about women' gazes in to a creative communal kitchen and watches these women transform it into a workshop, then a stage set, then a film, all the while juggling noisy men and the wolves of history. It imagines what the revolutionary women artists of the 1920s said, what they did, and what they might have created had it not been for Stalin's suppression.
After the FactsAfter the Facts · 2018
After the Facts
2018
MovieDocumentary
In the early years of cinema, editors were usually women. This short documentary looks at how they wielded power, and how their work was made invisible.

More Like This

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's EndPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End · 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
★ 7.32007
MovieAdventureFantasy
After losing Captain Jack Sparrow to the locker of Davy Jones, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Captain Barbossa journey to the ends of the earth to rescue him. And as the East India Trading Company tightens its grip on the seas under Lord Cutler Beckett—now in control of Davy Jones—the fate of piracy hangs by a thread. Now, they must unite the pirate lords for one final stand. But as loyalties are tested and alliances shift, each must ultimately choose where they stand in the battle for freedom on the high seas.
City of AngelsCity of Angels · 1998
City of Angels
★ 6.81998
MovieDramaFantasy
When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.
What Dreams May ComeWhat Dreams May Come · 1998
What Dreams May Come
★ 7.31998
MovieDramaFantasy
After Chris Nielsen dies in a car accident, he is guided through the afterlife by his spirit guide, Albert. His new world is beautiful and can be whatever Chris imagines. Even his children are there. But, when his wife, Annie, commits suicide and is sent to hell, Chris ignores Albert's warnings and journeys there to save her. Upon arrival, Chris finds that rescuing Annie will be more difficult than he'd imagined.
Heaven Can WaitHeaven Can Wait · 1978
Heaven Can Wait
★ 6.71978
MovieFantasyComedy
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.
Defending Your LifeDefending Your Life · 1991
Defending Your Life
★ 6.91991
MovieRomanceFantasy
Is there love after death? After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia offers him a chance to finally feel alive.
Heart and SoulsHeart and Souls · 1993
Heart and Souls
★ 7.01993
MovieFantasyComedy
A fateful night in 1959, four people die when the bus they are riding crashes. They continue as ghosts; their souls become eternally entwined to the life of a child born at the moment of their deaths as his guardians. Baby Thomas grows up to be a businessman who has memories of his playmates, but assumes they are products of his youthful imagination. When the ghosts realize they need Thomas' help to move on to the afterlife, they decide to make an appearance once more.
The Tree of LifeThe Tree of Life · 2011
The Tree of Life
★ 6.72011
MovieDramaFantasy
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Chances AreChances Are · 1989
Chances Are
★ 6.61989
MovieFantasyComedy
Louie Jeffries is happily married to Corinne. On their first anniversary, Louie is killed crossing the road. Louie is reincarnated as Alex Finch, and twenty years later, fate brings Alex and Louie's daughter, Miranda, together. It's not until Alex is invited to Louie's home that he begins to remember his former life, wife and best friend. Of course, there's also the problem that he's attracted to Louie's/his own daughter.
Groundhog DayGroundhog Day · 1993
Groundhog Day
★ 7.61993
MovieRomanceFantasy
A cynical TV weatherman, along with his idealistic producer and his sardonic cameraman, is sent to report on Groundhog Day in the small town of Punxsutawney, where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter