what cards are being used in 'the Gift'

Has anyone seen the film 'the Gift'? Cate Blanchett is a psychic reader in it who helps the police in a case of disappearance and murder. Keanu Reeves is a bad guy in it. I hadn't heard of it until I watched it on TV on Sunday night.
The thing is, Cate Blanchett's character reads cards. But I don't think they're Tarot cards - or are they? They seemed to have stars, circles, and wave designs in black and white and nothing that looked like court cards or majors.
Anybody else see the film, or got any idea what these are?

I haven't seen the film, but from what you describe, they could be 'psi' (also called 'zener') cards.

On this link, they are illustrated further down the page. They were quite popular in the 1970s, if I recall.

That be them!!! Thanks for the prompt reply and the link, jmd.
In the film the character was portrayed actually reading the cards, whereas judging by the article in the link they were designed to test people's ESP abilities. I was fascinated 'cos she was laying out throws of about 9 cards in a 3 x 3 pattern, so the very same card was turning up 2 or 3 times in a throw. Now how to interpret that...! But I suppose if you're psychic, it's all a doddle !

I watched the film too. I was pleasantly suprised by how good it was. I think she was using the cards as a jump off point for her intuition - she wasn't actually 'reading' the images.

Some people read blank pieces of card in this way .............or toothpicks

Love

Sulis xx

I also enjoyed the film and Cate Blanchett did an excellent job with her character.

Thanks for the thread, Bean Freasa, and the response, jmd as I have also wondered what sort of cards they were. I agree with Sulis, I don't think she was reading the card images, but they were like you say a jump off point for her physic abilities - like a trigger. I took particular notice when in one row three of the wavey line (water) cards turned up and they used this to create the relationship in the movie to water, where the victim was found.

Cheers
CreativeFire

Sulis said:

Some people read blank pieces of card in this way .............or toothpicks

Click to expand...

Lol, Sulis, I did think of Umbrae and his toothpicks, raindrops on windscreens (as opposed to roses) etc. when I saw the cards. Oh to have such well-developed intuition...!

Originally posted by Creative Fire
I took particular notice when in one row three of the wavey line (water) cards turned up and they used this to create the relationship in the movie to water, where the victim was found.

Click to expand...

Yes, Creative Fire, I was thinking along those lines as well - also wondering if the waves indicated some sort of cups suit.

And I agree that it was a very enjoyable film. Well-realised and atmospheric, and not too sensationalist. So often films that touch on subjects like that are sensationalist, or just plain ridiculous.

Cards of The Gift

The Gift was a great movie, although I don't want to see it again...too scary.

A while back on ATF, a there was a discussion of tarot cards used in movies, from which I gathered the cards had been designed for that movie...something to do with copyrights. How great to discover the real thing.

CreativeFire said:

I took particular notice when in one row three of the wavey line (water) cards turned up and they used this to create the relationship in the movie to water, where the victim was found.

Click to expand...

I noticed that too. It was quite eerie. Overall, I think this was an excellent film, and did a good job of portraying psychics in a sympathetic light. I was especially impressed with Keanu Reeves. Who woulda guessed he'd make such a good redneck?

Kim

When I saw Cate Blanchett lecture, she was asked how she prepared for the role in The Gift.

She said while she did visit a few psychics, she found them very unreliable and believed the LA psychics were only "reading the dailies" to give their "readings."

But, she ended by saying that character's motivation was driven almost exclusively from her socio-economic status in the small town, that was the basis of the decisions she made.

Blanchett seemed to take very little of "psychicism" into her homework for building that character, but it worked for me, as a dramatic portrayal of reading.

(I was tested on the Psi cards once... I got 9 out of 10 correct. I freaked out the "psychic" running the experiment ).

ah yes

i saw the movie,

one thing about keanu is he that he hated being in the movie,
i think it is because the movie required him to be such a mean guy, and would be bad for his image he was trying to cultivate at the time.

i also personally think that he signed thinking he had more of a starring character or postion and found it differnt when it came time to shoot. every movie star has a role like that at some time in their life.

the good thing about it is that he didn't do it just to get through the day and so the anger in the red neck part was very real,

regarding the movie itself.
i knew those cards soon as i saw it and i said to myself as if,
she isn't a card reader but a psychic who uses them for key.

this is on a differnt movie but the movie stir of echos , where the hynpotic suggestion keep an open mind lead keven bacon to open up his psychic abilities is a good one as well.