ACT OF GOD directed by Jennifer Baichwal. A Mongrel Media release. 75 minutes. Screens Thursday (April 30), 6:30 pm at the Winter Garden. Then opens at the Varsity Friday (May 1). See Times. Rating: NNNN
Act Of God finds director Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes) and her cinematographer/producer husband Nick de Pencier exploring the metaphysical implications of lightning through interviews with people who’ve encountered the natural phenomenon up close.
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Paul Auster provides a through line with his tale of narrowly avoiding death at summer camp, but it’s a parallel thread about musician Fred Frith – who consents to a brain scan while improvising a guitar piece – that gives the documentary its real snap, linking the random flashes in the sky to the equally mysterious activity in the human mind.