As a film critic, I watch a ton of movies. What’s always amazing, though, is how many really good films slip through the cracks, where not only don’t you ever get a chance to see a sleeper film, but even us critics don’t hear about it until years later. For the film makers, that’s incredibly frustrating as they might have spent years working on their movie just to fall flat when it came time to work out a distribution deal with a major company.
Worse than that, though, is that we film fans end up with the big-budget “tent pole” movies as our only option in the cineplex, whether we want to enjoy a night out with friends or a date. That’s the reason that the folks over at Gaiam created the Spiritual Cinema Circle, and I wanted to just bring it to your attention as a great way to enjoy thoughtful, provocative movies and shorter films each month, in the comfort of your own home.
Each mailing includes a feature length film, some shorter films, and bonus content and commentary. For example, here’s what’s on the January 2015 disc:
As you can see, the feature this month is Walking the Camino, along with the shorts This Is Normal, Revive and The Cage, along with a discussion of the films by Stephen Simon (host of the Spiritual Cinema Circle) and Michael Bassett and some bonus features.
It’s a total of almost three hours of content, and every month a new set of thoughtful movies and shorts show up from the club. Nice.
Oh, and Simon includes a succinct writeup and introduction of the selections too:
You can join on a month-to-month basis, but of course the pricing drops as you make a longer commitment. They also have three-month gift memberships available and if you follow my link, you’ll find a special promo that’ll let you try this out with minimal risk or cost:
Hope you give it a try and find out about a novel way to get new movies each month that you can watch with your spouse, parents or children, movies that will spark conversation rather than just turn off your brains.
Disclaimer: The above is an affiliate link. If you sign up for SCC the price is exactly the same, but I earn a modest commission on your membership fee.
Another example of how a new media-style product enriches our culture. Love the concept. And yes … even jaded film critics miss movies now and then that are worth catching up to …