Review: Dragons and Rings

Written and Directed by Steve Mitchell
Produced by Reality Entertainment Films (www.reality-entertainment.com)
Official Website: www.dragonsandrings.com
Running Time: 50 minutes
Format: DVD

And the award for The Most Understated Title for a Documentary goes to...Steve Mitchell's Dragons and Rings.

With such a title, I was expecting a discussion on the finer points of Tolkien mythology. What I got instead was one of the most mind-blowing, confusing, and truly out-there films that I have seen in recent memory. From the structures of Stonehenge to the pyramids of Egypt, is it possible that ancient landmarks hold the key to unlocking the truth of all existence?

Content

It starts out simply enough, with writer/director/narrator Steve Mitchell going through the history of ley lines--those energy focal points crisscrossing the Earth, and designated by ancient man's monolithic structures. This transitions into the study of the act of dowsing, specifically through the use of a crystal pendulum, to tap into "orgone" energy. A theory put forth by 1930s psychoanalyst Wilhem Reich, orgone is a sort of radiating life force...not unlike the midichlorian-controlled Force of the Star Wars prequels, I guess. None of these theories are presented in a particularly convincing way, but this kind of pre-WWII era super-science is nonetheless interesting.

It is at this point that the film started to lose me, however. Delving deeper into concepts of dimensional perspective and existentialism, it's equal parts pseudoscience and psychobabble. Mitchell offers that we perceive time as linear only because we have no other reference point for it. And in a scene about Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" statement, Mitchell takes it one step further by adding that our perceived existence relies on our brains being able to sense ourselves on all five levels. Our bodies take in tremendous amounts of sensory data, he argues, only we are stymied by our inability to interpret it.

From here, Dragons and Rings devolves into near incomprehensible blather. It's a hypnotizing montage of trippy music, flashing mathematical super-equations, and Steve Mitchell's soothing British accent. I had no idea what was going on, yet I was loving every minute of it--so that must count for something. To fully comprehend this film, repeat viewing will be a must.

To sum things up, one line stood out for me as particularly shiver-inducing: "If we allow ourselves to be limited to thinking of time as linear, then science has wasted a lot of it searching for "Big Bang" and linear point of origin. When in fact the universe and all of creation has simply existed...forever."

To quote The Matrix, "What a mind-job."

DVD

The first thing you'll notice about Dragons and Rings upon popping it into your DVD player is the complete lack directions. There are two options, Scene Selection and Morning Light. The latter of which I decided to click on first, thinking it to be the movie. It was in fact a music video by the band Soul-Path, featuring Lord of the Rings style visuals. After further examination, I discovered a small, blue "Play" button in the bottom corner that will load the feature film. Still, a less confusing menu would have been appreciated.

Also, along with the understated title, the DVD box art is likewise misleading. The composition is solid, only the font and image choices might lead potential viewers to dismiss it as a cheap fantasy flick.

As far as audio and visual quality is concerned, neither aspects appeared to be lacking in clarity. At no times did the music or narration dip in fidelity, nor were there any noticeable artifacting or black-level issues with the images.

Final Thoughts

To further reference The Matrix, if you felt turned off or lost at any point during that film's philosophical banter, Steve Mitchell's Dragons and Rings probably isn't for you. Bit if you're looking for a documentary that is sure to make you think, consider picking it up.

Perhaps a better title would have been simply "Whoa."

Ratings

Information: C
Editing: B
Audio/Video: B
Special Features: D

Overall (not an average): C+

~Khyron, 2008