The Invocation

(PG) Hopscotch DVD

The subtitle of this film, “a documentary about God and world peace”, sounds like something someone would spout at a beauty pageant. It has about as much depth as one.

Exploring similar territory to the recent doco reviewed in these pages, Oh My God!, The Invocation seeks to show that in our search for God we ultimately find mankind, after which peace and unity should follow.

While some believe and others don’t, director Emmanuel Itier just wants to keep the debate going, which, though admirable, leads to a sort of new age philosophy that sprouts talk of beings and energy and a fair bit of wackiness.

Interviews of the usual luminaries pepper the bumper-sticker sentiments: Deepak Chopra, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The Dalai Lama, Dr Masaru Emoto, and many rabbis, sheiks, priests, lamas, historians, scientists, philosophers, entertainers, peace activists and musicians.

Although I agree with at least a couple of the arguments — that there should be a global concern for health and suffering in third world countries and the message of peace and unity through connectivity — it gets bogged down in a lot of slogans and mantras: one planet, one people, one universe. Indeed.

Adrian Drayton