Illumination (1973) - Krzysztof Zanussi

Krzysztof Zanussi's Illumination follows the education of a young man from the beginning of college through his doctorate program in physics.  He is a highly intelligent man whose extremely focused on his scientific studies but once he meets a young woman, he begins to find his allocation of time growing ever more complicated.  Illumination is a deeply profound film about a highly intelligent man who is in search of a better understanding of life and the human spirit.  A man of science he struggles desperately to quantify this force which completely lacks definition. Illumination is a beautifully developed narrative deconstructing a man whose profession and life run parallel to one and other.  The film encapsulates the conflict between science and spirituality in such a unique way, never taking sides but rather presenting how these two forces intermingle with one and other.  By devoting time to his family and happiness, he finds himself falling way behind in his academic studies but what he learns about life, family, sexuality and spirituality is what truly makes him a complete human being. Towards the end of the film the man finds himself diagnosed with life-threatening heart disease but there are no tears from this man who begins to realize his life has been a complete one, thanks to his personal world outside of academics. 

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