1. going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding.
2. superior or supreme.
3. Theology. (of the Deity) transcending the universe, time, etc. Compare immanent (def 3).
Some films, through their exceptional beauty and truth and goodness,
achieved something that felt like spiritual epiphany, something immanent
and cathartic and moving. I believe this is attained mainly because of
a character that is transcending time, and thereby transcending death.
The ending scenes of The New World - Transcending time through innovative editing, by contrasting the moments
where the character feels her imminent death upon her and the moments
where she feels most alive. -, Ordet - Quite literally, a character is resurrected from the dead. - and Breaking The Waves - The main character and the love she has/had lives on. This is done by using a visual motif-symbol, namely church bells ringing. - come to mind.
Transcendental style in Film:
http://www.paulschrader.org/articles/pdf/1972-TransFilmSeriesNotes.pdf
Der Himmel über Berlin seems to achieve the opposite of transcendence, by investigating and exploring transcendence.
Handke's and Wenders's Wings of Desire: Transcending Postmodernism
http://www.jstor.org/stable/407304?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Movie still from Der Himmel über Berlin
