Keith Hamilton Cobb discusses "Eyes Beyond Seeing"

Keith relates an amusing story about the intense fan reaction to the film:

"Okay, so I'm standing around at a Christmas party back in '98 at an actor friend's house out by the beach. I'm sure you've been to a party like this before. Everyone knows everyone, and nobody knows you. Anyway, a friendly face finally arrives at the corner of the room I'm occupying, an independent filmmaker who was also once a daytime guy, and we start to talk. Before too long, this filmmaker guy points across the room at a tall, thin young man who could have been Richard Gere's younger twin brother. He says to me, "Is this dude stalkin' you, or what?" He had been looking at us intently from across the room for a good five minutes. I said, "Me? I thought he was lookin' at you." Whatever, right?

We go back to talking and, eventually, this fellow makes his way across the room. He interrupts the conversation and introduces himself as Ivo (can't vouch for the spelling) an actor from Argentina recently relocated to L.A. (I later learned that they call him the Argentine Richard Gere!) Ivo then asks me, in his best broken English, if I had been in a movie called Eyes Beyond Seeing in which my character claimed to be Jesus Christ. I told him yes, I had, in fact, made that very movie over a summer about five or six years prior.

I think it's fair to say that Ivo, at this moment, went slightly nuts. He pumps my hand; he tells me, in the most animated and glowing terms: this is a WONDERFUL movie; the story of the love of a father for a son; a BEAUTIFUL story; such WONDERFUL work, we LOVE this movie, etc., etc. Ivo explained that he had seen the movie on Argentine television, and that he thought it was a big, important, American movie.

Well of course, I thanked him profusely for the rave. He wandered back out among the guests still talking about how the film was so much better than the Hollywood blockbusters where everything explodes and people get shot. I would certainly have to agree with him there!

This labor of love was shot on Long Island, New York, by an extremely gifted filmmaker named Daniel Robert Cohn -- for about the same amount of money it would cost you to take your agent to lunch in Hollywood. It relates the story of a young man who, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the embodiment of Christ returned. While being observed at the state mental hospital, he embarks upon a relationship with his doctor who is undergoing a crisis of faith. That's about all I can say without revealing too much. It also starred a New York actor named Harry Hibbits, Allelon Ruggerio, whom you may remember from The Dead Poets Society, and featured a very funny appearance by the legendary comic Henny Youngman.

I've often been asked about this piece, and until recently there was little else I could tell anyone. However, at long last, Mr. Cohn, through his own particular magic and stubborn efforts, succeeded in bringing the film to television, and to a fairly broad audience if my feedback is to be believed. It aired twice on UPN and received some very favorable notices.

In any case, if you missed the television premiere of Eyes Beyond Seeing, perhaps you can petition UPN to run it again. If that fails, you can obtain a copy through Dan's website, EyesBeyondSeeing.com . If you do, I hope you enjoy it half as much as Ivo did."

--Keith Hamilton Cobb

(originally published at keithhamiltoncobb.com)

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Comments from MySpace viewers:

Mark:

"I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Very complex piece of work and thought provoking."

PoetNmotion:

"IT WAS FANTASTIC!! Definitely a keeper!"

Tafutaji:

"My dvd arrived today and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Complex and compelling. It keeps you guessing until you almost believe. Hard to believe it came out before a similar movie ("K-Pax") and didn't receive as much hoopla. When will Daniel Cohn direct more films? Keith's portrayal of Peter and the final moment of his pain was amazing and made my eyes water. Superb film."

Deedra:

"I WILL be buying another copy of Eyes Beyond Seeing. It is a movie worthy of my hard earned money."