posted
I watched this movie on Netflix over the weekend.
The premise: In an alternate world a device was created sometime in the 90s that tells you who will be your soul mate. It counts down to the day you meet, and alerts you when you make eye contact on that day. It is 100% effective. If removed (it is attached to your wrist), it can never be replaced. Your timer will not start counting down until your soul mate has purchased one as well. You can buy one starting at the age of 14.
The movie is about a pair of sisters. One who's timer is blank (her soul mate has not purchased one) and one who's timer is counting down for something like 20 years.
The movie was great. A great commentary on human nature, fate, and destiny. It also left me wishing the world could be explored more. A true romantic, sci-fi, dramedy.
My wife of course asked me immediately after watching it if I would buy one. Being a smart husband I of course replied that I would not, I already met my soul mate.
I wonder how many people actually would. Would you stay with your spouse if your timer's did not match up? Would it make a difference how long the timer was counting down for?
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Did I miss the title of this movie? It looks good, but I don't know the name to add it to my list.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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Looks pretty interesting Stephan. Definitely has the possibility of examining some very though provoking questions!
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posted
Would I buy one? I'd need to know a lot more, since I currently don't believe in soul mates (for most people).
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I don't believe in soulmates, I think that there are people who we are more or less suited to be with. We all have ranges of individuals that we would find attractive, get along with, could fall in love, and could spend the rest of our lives with. Some more than others. So taken to it's logical conclusion I DO think that in a quantifiable way there is most likely one individual alive in the world today that is more aligned with those criteria than any other individual. In practice, it's likely impossible to ever actually work out a way to find this individual, or know it when you did, as well as the fact that the person who is most suitable for you may be only a negligible amount above the next person. You could have a whole swath of people with barely any difference. Though this doesn't negate the theoretical possibility of their being one and only one best match.
Though, worth mentioning, I don't believe in "souls", so take all that as coming from someone who is using "soul mate" only metaphorically.
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posted
The concept of "soul mate" generally means closer to "the correct match", not "the best match".
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I don't necessarily see a difference between those two phrases.
i.e. - or, to put it differently, I reject the concept of a "correct" match to a certain degree. Best match to me implies "one", while "correct" could imply much more than one. There can be lots of correct ways of solving a problem, but usually one of them is the best. In that sense, "best match" would be a more accurate way of describing a soul mate than a "correct match".
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posted
Since I think that different people can be your best match at different points in your life, and that all your experiences change who you'll want to be with, the concept sounds unlikely to work in reality.
There are also some serious limits on who you can really connect with, as well. What if you live on different continents, or speak different languages, or he was a catholic priest? What if he died before you even met each other? What about different kinds of love - what if your 'soul mate' had kids that he would never leave behind, or his wife was his best friend (who he would never hurt) but the spark wasn't really there? Too many variables.
I've watched about half of the movie so far. It really is an interesting idea. I like the concept of psychic computers.
Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
If it could in fact predict when I would meet the absolute greatest love I could ever hope for instead of someone with a penchant for throwing things at me while I sleep... price would not be an object.
P.S. I dont know why anyone else hasnt mentioned, considering all of the Whedonites around here but Anyanka (or Emma Caulfield, whatever) stars.
Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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posted
I think we'd have to make a lot of assumptions about this to really decide if I'd use it or not. For example, all of Bella's questions are in my head. What if your soul mate is by circumstance unavailable? Or, what if you already met them in the past but haven't seen them since. Is your moment over? I really don't believe in soul mates either. I believe there are any number of possible women out there for me and that circumstance, luck and work will make any number of that number workable for a long term relationship. But this is science fiction, so, let's assume that this it the best of all those possible matches.
If we assume that this thing works and I'll find out who my soul mate is and there won't be any complications...I still might not do it. What if the number that pops up is like 20 years? That would depress the hell out of me.
I think I'd much rather live hoping it could happen any day than knowing I have days and days and days to go of fruitless interactions that will lead to nothing.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
A few thoughts, in a way it seems like the device would lead to some of the same problems as Flashforward (more the book than the tv series), just on a smaller scale. Just knowing that you're going to meet your soulmate (or not) will change your actions in such a way with some wanting to speed it up and others trying to avoid it (if they're already in a relationship). Or heck, just having a scientific validation behind a concept such as soul mate could be huge (assuming it is not just a "best match" as mph pointed out).
The other question that comes up is how successful are people currently in finding their soulmate? 20%,40,90%? There could be very big social upheaval depending on how large the number is and how compelling people find the proof.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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quote:If it were just a numerical best match, I'd be totally uninterested.
I'm assuming for the purpose of the movie that best match means "the person that you will personally derive the greatest life satisfaction from being connected with for the rest of your life, who will also derive the greatest possible life satisfaction for you, who you are also going to meet at some point over the course of your life." Which doesn't strike me as a bad thing. There may be other people out there who are just as good a fit for you, but if you're not going to run into them then they're largely irrelevant.
The only issue is, if your time says "20 years" and you meet someone right NOW who may not turn out to be perfect but seems really great... do you hook up now, knowing that eventually you'll meet someone better? (It would be nice if the device showed you how much better matched your "soulmate" was than the second best person you were destined to meet).
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posted
Heres a wrench in the plan, what if your having your soulmate would create a bad situation? like that kid who met long lost grandmother and fell in love. Or a fourteen year old whose soulmate is three times thier age? or your little prophetic watch throws you a curve ball by letting you know that you are now gay.
True love can be found in unexpected places, at inconveniant times.
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Wouldn't the whole thing be proven wrong the minute someone makes a website that matches people's clocks and then meets their soul mates before they were supposed to meet?
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posted
Strangely enough, my girlfriend is the one who gave up on it. I thought girls were more into the whole romantic comedy thing more than guys.
Posts: 2705 | Registered: Sep 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Godric 2.0: I gave up about 10-15 minutes in.
It did start a bit slow. But I'd suggest giving it another 20 minutes or so (I don't recall exactly when it hooked me).
quote:Originally posted by Godric 2.0: Wouldn't the whole thing be proven wrong the minute someone makes a website that matches people's clocks and then meets their soul mates before they were supposed to meet?
Nope. It zeroes out at midnight the night before the fateful day, so at best you'd narrow it down to hundreds. Dozens? And then who says your match has not only gotten a Timer (that's evident if yours is ticking) but also signed up on the site -- that there'd be no proof of.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Would I buy one? Assuming that I accepted the idea of it even being theoretically possible, sure, why not? It's not like I'd be stuck with a certain fate or outcome. After all, I can take off the watch at any time, ignore the timer, or reject the person that it leads to.
I guess I would view it the same as I would view a suggested match by a computer for an online dating service. It might be worth checking out for the sake of curiosity and potential, but I certainly wouldn't restrict my choices strictly because of what it said.
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If mine said, "Meet your match in 5 years, 3 days, 22.5 minutes" I'd immediately take up Sky Diving and other dangerous sports. Hey, I'm immortal for the next 5 years, 3 days, and 22 minutes.
Posts: 1941 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:Originally posted by shadowland: I can take off the watch at any time
Actually, it's implanted in your wrist, costs the same as the install fee to remove, and it hurts to have it taken out -- more than to have it put in (which was compared to having one's ears pierced).
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posted
I rather wondered about that too. But the implication (never explicitly stated) was that it could only be in the future. They did state that if a couple came in together, that the two Timers would make their little zero-out chimy noise as soon as both had registered (a few seconds).
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quote:Originally posted by shadowland: I can take off the watch at any time
Actually, it's implanted in your wrist, costs the same as the install fee to remove, and it hurts to have it taken out -- more than to have it put in (which was compared to having one's ears pierced).
And if you have it removed, you can never have it put back on.
After having seen the movie, I declare the OP question unanswerable, because I reject the entire notion. I think that a lot of people not only don't have soulmates, but cannot have one until they shape up and become the sort of person that it is possible for another human being to have a positive relationship with.
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: And if you have it removed, you can never have it put back on.
OP stated that, so I didn't repeat, but yeah.
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: cannot have one until they shape up and become the sort of person that it is possible for another human being to have a positive relationship with.
The movie acknowledged that, actually. Lead's father said something to the effect of "Guess I still have lessons to learn" regarding why he (in his late 60s?) still had a date in the future.
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He didn't actually say when it was set for. Maybe it wasn't. I wonder if there are some (assuming you grant the premise in the first place, of course) whose Timers never start ticking.
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posted
A man walks excitedly into a crowded room where the party is in full swing. He stares at the device in his wrist as it slowly ticks down the seconds.
His wife follows close behind, also staring at the device in his wrist.
He has been getting more and more excited as the time and day got closer. Today he made sure to wear his best clothes.
She has been getting more and more upset as the time and day got closer. Today she made sure to bring her best gun.
They were so focused on staring at the timing device in his wrist that he almost didn't look up to see his love. He almost missed her entirely. She didn't miss at all.
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