Lô Pham's Official Website - Writer/Director - Auteur/Réalisateur

"The Rainbow Body"

French Title: "Le Corps arc-en-ciel"

Genre: mystery/metaphysical tale
Circa: present day
Main Location: USA or Europe
Duration: 1h 45 min
Format: 35mm
Estimated Budget: 2.5 millions USD

This film project is copyrighted and protected under international laws.

Project outline:

Following the narrative structure of a supernatural thriller, "The Rainbow Body" is a metaphysical tale exploring the Body-Mind relationship and the mystery of life after death. The story is inspired by true facts and actual events and characters.

Pitch/logline:

A brilliant doctor and psychotherapist struggles to solve the intriguing case of one of his patient: a depressive old man who is convinced that his deceased son is back home, 20 years after his tragic disappearance.

Synopsis:

Somewhere on earth, a young couple of lovers, completely naked, silently contemplates a perfect blue sky from their room windows wide opened. Suddenly, their bodies start to shrink and finally dissolves into a bright clear light that illuminates the sky.

The same day, somewhere in America, a naked man of unknown identity is found lying unconscious in the toilets of Henry and Harriet's house. Henry and Harriet have lost their unique son, Jonas, two decades ago, when he was only 7 year-old. The young boy disappeared mysteriously the day Henry's father died. After ten years of unsuccessful police investigations, Jonas was finally presumed dead although his body was never to be found.

Due to the stranger's striking resemblance with their lost son, Henry and his wife are drawn to hasty conclusions that the stranger is their beloved son, now an adult, back home after 20 years of absence, still unexplained. Pretending to be mute and seriously sick, the man, who seems to have lost his memory, apparently takes advantage of the situation and settles down in their house, occupying Jonas' child bedroom. Little by little, he gains the affection and confidence of his hosts, while manifesting some strange, disturbing behaviours while alone in their house.

Intrigued by the case, Clarence Goodson, a brilliant doctor and psychotherapist, decides to lead his own enquiry. For several years now, he has been compassionately helping Henry to psychologically get over the loss of his unique son. A pioneer in his field, Clarence Goodson is the founder of 'The Institute of Advanced Medical and Therapeutic Research' that treats severe illnesses and leads in-depth experiments on Holistic Healing. He is seconded by his faithful assistant, Tara White, who got a PH.D. degree in Psychosomatics. Although he and Tara find it hard to believe that Henry's deceased son, Jonas, is back home, they don't want to hurt Henry's feelings and rather propose to come by his house to meet Jonas in person.

Once arrived at Henry's house, they enter Jonas' bedroom and take a look at the bed where the man is supposed to be lying down. Unexpectedly, they see nothing else than just an empty bed, unlike Henry and Harriet who are utterly convinced that someone is actually occupying Jonas' bed. Concealing his astonishment, Clarence Goodson skillfully pretends to see someone too and improvise a friendly talk with the so-called Jonas. While his assistant, Tara, thinks that Henry and Harriet are suffering from heavy hallucinations, making themselves see what they unconsciously desire (their son's ressurection from the Dead), Clarence Goodson come up with another interpretation, rather daring: according to him, Henry and Harriet are really seeing something, an entity, probably a dead man who haunts the place, playing tricks with Henry and Harriet's fragile hearts.

To help him solve this mystery once and for all, he calls on an old friend of him, Cornelius Pilkis, a blind psychic who can communicate with spirits. Joining him in his search, the psychic meticulously examines all rooms in Henry's house and obtains instant visions of what occurred in the place. Gathering everyone in the living room, he reveals them the truth, the unbelievable truth… that will change their vision of life and death forever.

Author's comments (spoiler warning!): To read only if you are a film producer. If not, please jump to the next paragraph. Thank you.

One of the main particularities of the film is that it deals with fantastic, supernatural events that are actually inspired by true facts, scientifically under close investigation. What we call "The Rainbow Body" is a very rare and mysterious phenomenon of the body's dissolution into lights of several colours (like a rainbow). Even though all researchs on this phenomenon are kept mostly confidential, this physical transformation from matter to light has been witnessed by numerous people all over the world, mainly in Asia (India, Tibet, etc.) but also in South America. In the Tibetan Tradition, many stories and testimonies assert the existence of the "Rainbow Body". If the Tibetans have their own spiritual explanation of this strange phenomenon (cf. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, a best-seller from Sogyal Rinpoché), a group of american catholic monks has also carried out thorough investigations on the subject, in cooperation with serious institutes of scientific research in America and Europe. One of the most appealing aspects of this film is that it talks about a topical subject that stands at the crossroad of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, raising at the same time mind-boggling scientific questions. For the catholic monks who have studied the phenomenon extensively, the "Rainbow Body" is indeed intriguingly reminiscent of the religious phenomenon of resurrection of the Christ.

The numerous metaphysical, philosophical, religious and scientific issues brought to light by the film give a rare density to the plot, making it as entertaining as mysterious and enriching. In particular, the film raises interest in the fundamental questions of human existence, the Body-Mind relationship and the mystery of life after death. In a humanistic approach, the film also deals with the underlying subjects of separation, grief, mourning, the fatality of death and the quest for freedom and happiness.

To get further information on the "Rainbow Body" film project, obtain the final script (in English or in French), take part in the production or join the cast, please feel free to contact me. Thank you.