Karma (Part 6)

Originally broadcast on KCRW in 2000.

Synopsis

• Joe: he talks to Kate on the phone. They say they love each other. An idyllic description of Europe. Joe is jealous. Joe's mother had a wondering eye. The big bang and finding God.
• Joe's mother: she answers the phone, says she is not naked, and discusses romantic movies.
• A woman: romantic love compared to extreme performance art. Love and immortality.
• Kornfield: a woman is told by people of different religions that they've each seen her dead lover in their afterlife.
• Larry: A brief relationship with a woman from the theater who then loses interest in him.
• Joe: Animal cruelty as part of God's plan. "You could call it God's grace. But I wouldn't."
• Kornfield: Explaining satellites, the solar system to a wise old monk. Wisdom vs. knowledge. The origin of everything in an ancient star.
• A woman: A boy walks her to school throughout her adolescence. Being disappointed with her first sexual encounter. Bad relationships.
• Joe: Imagining fake memories about Kate: meeting her in Rome, being teenage sweethearts; the sort of imagined scenes on thinks of while waiting on a plane.
• Kornfield: Knowing what time it is. "When [situation] arises, how does your heart respond?" set to a fast beat.
• Sound effects: a stewardess gives a safety lecture on an airplane.
• Joe: All songs are about love. Alternative song titles about unpleasant everyday events.

Music

• "Spacebeach" - Arling & Cameron (from Music for Imaginary Films, 1999) | YouTube
• "Brazil" - Antonio Carlos Jobim (from Stone Flower, 1970) | YouTube
• "Re-arrange" - Cinematic Orchestra (from Talkin Inside The Beat, 1999) | YouTube

Commentary

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Spblat

I think this is the one to show my mom, aside from the bit about Joe overhearing his elderly mother moaning while masturbating. Ah well. A really outstanding example of the Karma style.