Brian Cotnoir

In 1908, an occult manuscript would mystify those interested in metaphysics and the unseen world. The Kybalion, penned by a mysterious author known as Three Initiates, presented seven principles of ancient Hermetic philosophy. These principles can be used in everyday life to empower and heighten your understanding of the universe and your relationship to it. Now, in 2022, The Kybalion is presented for the first time as a feature-length film.

In 1971, author and film scholar Donald Richie published a poetic travelogue about his explorations of the islands of Japan’s Inland Sea, recording his search for traces of a traditional way of life as well as his own journey of self-discovery. Twenty years later, filmmaker Lucille Carra undertook a parallel trip inspired by Richie’s by-then-classic book, capturing images of hushed beauty and meeting people who still carried on the fading customs that Richie had observed. Interspersed with surprising detours—a visit to a Frank Sinatra-loving monk, a leper colony, an ersatz temple of plywood and plaster—and woven together by Richie’s narration as well as a score by celebrated composer Toru Takemitsu, The Inland Sea is an eye-opening voyage and a profound meditation on what it means to be a foreigner.