stevendecastro It's difficult for me to dis this perfectly well-meaning guy with committed, if vague, political and religious beliefs. The first five minutes of the movie were the strongest, and yet they also revealed the film's flaw. At the start we learn about the filmmaker's friend, who went to Chiapas to film a peaceful protest and was shot. Afterwards, the foreign journalists all left, and the lone filmmaker, our narrator, stands alone against the stormtroopers. That is when my wife said, "I don't like his voice."But why not? His voice is perfectly fine. I think it goes to the larger issue, which is that every filmmaker has a voice, just like every writer has a voice. And this voice is a little too centered on the filmmaker. When the filmmaker faced off against the troops, he said "I was scared." That kind of on-the-nose writing is a real buzz-kill.Because when a stranger tells you "I'm scared," the first thing most people think of is, "You're probably just a wimp." A movie shows, it's not supposed to tell. A horror movie is not a description of a scary event, a horror movie is supposed to scare you, or its not a movie. And anyway, what is the filmmaker, a white American, what business does he have being scared? The people of Chiapas, talk to them and you will hear about how scary it is. After all, you did take a plane to get there.So that's the problem, in a sense. A self-narrated piece has a dangerous tendency to accidentally portray the narrator as the hero in their own story, and in a documentary where people's lives are at stake, that can seem a little selfish.

rgcustomer With the aggressive title "Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action", the viewer is warned that this film is pushing a fuzzy agenda.Myself, I felt that its message was very strongly being pushed on me, but at the same time I felt that the speaker had little idea what the message was.The film has interesting documentary components. It's a collection of valuable videos of various protests and actions through time and across the globe. I suspect most of this material is available elsewhere. I'm not sure where else you could see it all in one place, so that has value.But then there are interviews with folks regarding spiritual activism, or even spirituality, and strong assertions and conclusions are made. Such things are neither proved in the film, nor even defined. Or rather, defined in so many ways, there's not really an answer. It's just the usual loopiness that amounts to "it is what I say it is" and "because". The film never really bothers to identify what is spiritual about any of this, or why it would fail if there was no spirituality (probably because we know it wouldn't fail, despite the narrator's claims to the contrary).As I see it, you can't get to community without jettisoning your indulgence of spirituality, which is ultimately a limiting thing, tending to isolate people into groups. Community is best achieved by dealing with the common reality that we all experience. The film didn't really address this at all.The same spirituality that claims to have motivated these actions that I and the narrator appear to favour has also claimed responsibility for some of the worst crimes in the world's history, and continues today. This seems to be touched on very briefly, but not really given serious thought.Spiritual folks, or those with certain favoured religions, wanting an easy re-affirmation of themselves will probably love this film. The rest of us won't.

justinewart Gives hope and direction to all of those who feel they are alone in this world wanting things to change for the better. After finishing the film I felt like maybe there's a chance that humanity will make it through the current world crises and that is no small accomplishment! Fierce Light has taken social action and activism going on all over the world and through history and connected it all into a web of inspired action that transcends politics and religion. After seeing this film I feel less alone and more hopeful, like the world has many genuinely spiritual people trying to make the world a better place whether they label themselves that way or not. A truly powerful documentary and work of art with masterful direction and sound design.

icoachyou I was fortunate to have seen this film at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January 2009. This brilliant film was worth the entire festival. The audience cheered and applauded. It is a must see for any human being who asks . . . "What can I do to make a difference? I was moved to tears of compassion and inspired to take action. Run to see this movie and tell all your friends. Gather in groups to watch the film and remember why you are here. I was filled grace and reconnected to what love in action truly is. Our light is much stronger than any darkness and our determinationto do what is right will always prevail!Yes this remarkable film is a Human Sunrise.