Heather Lees - Cold Fever

I was never really a firm believer in ritual. I definitely wouldn't consider myself a religious person. I took this class in order to be able to keep an open mind on religion as a whole. Watching Cold Fever, I was pretty much able to relate to Hirata, especially at the beginning of the film. Hirata did not believe in rituals and the only reason he agreed to go to Japan in the first place was because he felt that it was the right thing for him to do. Throughout the film, Hirata gets multiple different obstacles thrown in his direction and sends him on a spiritual journey that he was least expecting to experience. For me, I had the same experience one time in my life. However, my experience was not a spiritual journey, but more like a spiritual moment. Watching this film reminded me more of when I took a trip to Aruba and visited a little Chapel that was in the area. At the time, I didn't realize that this was some kind of a spiritual connection that I was having. The film helped me realize that sometimes things happen that mean something differently than what you may have initially thought. Spiritual journey really does tend to happen to those who least expect it.