The Nature of Existence

Director Roger Nygard (Trekkies) travels the world to pose big-ticket questions: Is there an afterlife? What is morality? Why are we here? No spiritual stone is left unturned, with interviews from the likes of archdruids and neurologists, Tibetan monks and Christian evangelists, New Age gurus and alien channelers, Indian yogis and an irksomely precocious child—and, naturally, Julia Sweeney. While the range of talking heads impresses and the undergrad Philosophy 101 generalism of the topic seems intentionally laughable, Nygard’s mildly insipid, occasionally condescending tone makes you long for the bombast of early Michael Moore.—Lisa Rosman

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