Little Buddha

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 12:48 PM

United Kingdom/France, 1993
U.S. Release Date: 5/25/94
Running Length: 2:03
MPAA Classification: PG (Mature themes)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1

Keanu Reeves ... Siddhartha
Ruocheng Ying ... Lama Norbu (as Ying Ruocheng)
Chris Isaak ... Dean Conrad

Bridget Fonda ... Lisa Conrad
Alex Wiesendanger ... Jesse Conrad

Little Buddha in 13 Parts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sIvhil16dI

This movie is ultimately about belief in Reincarnation and finding the Reincarnationed Buddha.

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 12:50 PM

Synopsis

Inspired by a true story, LITTLE BUDDHA begins with a group of Tibetan monks leaving their monastery in Bhutan to search for the reincarnation of a recently deceased high lama. Their quest takes them to Seattle, where they try to convince young Jesse's father and mother (Chris Isaak and Bridget Fonda) that their son may be the lama. Intercut throughout is the story of Siddhartha (played by Keanu Reeves), the prince who became the Buddha.
Trailer at link:
http://www.celebritywonder.com/movie/19 ... uddha.html

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 12:52 PM

I have watched approximately half, and will hold comment at this time. Thanks for putting me on to this Joe Quinn, I did not see this movie.

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 09-01-2009 01:04 PM

Great film! I've seen it several times, and once in a film class, too.

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 01:14 PM

Great Joolz, I noticed that the release date in the U.S. was May 24, 1994, during that time I was in Germany for about six weeks and must not have noticed it.

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 03:30 PM

I felt the story for the search by Lama Norbu to seek out the reincarnated spirit of a great Buddhist teacher, Lama Dorje was well told, Norbu and his fellows believe they have found Dorje's spirit residing within Seattle, WA. who is a boy named Jesse Conrad.
I have not studied Buddhism in great depth but do believe in reincarnation, didn't feel that reincarnation was shoved down our throats, it left you wanting to learn more. The beliefs of Buddhism is no different then Christan belief in God, it is taken on faith.

joequinn · Post by **joequinn** » 09-01-2009 04:39 PM

Public opinion polls constantly state that one in four Americans believe in the reality of reincarnation, and even a nihilistic genius like the 18th century philosopher David Hume declared that the doctrine of reincarnation is the only way in which the moral status of the universe could be reconciled with the chaotic and apparently amoral facts of everyday existence. And I myself have believed devoutly in the doctrine for decades now: indeed, it is my awareness of the reality of reincarnation that accounts for my ability to contemplate dispassionately the imminent Great Dying of the human race in no more than fifteen or even ten years from now.

And yet reincarnation is a profoundly un-American doctrine. Who knows? Maybe an acceptance of the doctrine may turn out to be a touchstone of the terrorist mindset. The typical American feels most uncomfortable with any idea of the soul as being anything more than an epiphenomenon of the body. (As a matter of fact, such a belief is quite compatible with the Holy Roller ethos that has been the cutting edge of institutional American Christianity for the past thirty years. Since it would be impudent to believe that one could survive death without the saving power of the Crazy Ole Devil-Gawd of Mount Sinai, the Holy Rollers believe that we are naturally mortal and become immortal only as a result of Ole Nobodaddy’s cosmic Shazam!) And if we are nothing more than a shorthand term for millions of brain events, then there is nothing morally to prevent us to git-while-the-gittin’-is-good, regardless of who is harmed in the process. (This is euphemistically known as asserting oneself or “following one’s bliss.”) So we live fast and die young, and the man with the most toys wins, with a ****-faced grin on his decomposing face.

One of the most marvelous things about this remarkable film, which I was saw as soon as it was released in the summer of 1994, is precisely that it is so un-American. From the story of the priest and the goat, which opens the film, through the moving (at least I thought it to be moving) tale of Siddhartha’s discovery of the Four Passing Sights (old age, sickness, death and renunciation), the entire film reminds us that we are as ignorant as dirt about our own conscious identities, not to mention everything else in the world. The film is no big deal, and precisely in being no big deal, it turns out to be a very big deal. We are not who we think that we are; we do not have to right to grab-n-git whatever we please, whenever we please, however we please; and the horror that will blast us all away ten or fifteen years from now is nothing more than a momentarily unpleasant event in a much wider scenario of life, one in which the happy ending, however far away it may be, is still within reach, sooner or later.

The performances are uniformly superb in being nothing special at all: it’s obvious to me that every major actor involved in the film wanted to be there and did his or her job as a labor of love. The cinematography is superb, just what you would expect from the director who made The Last Emperor. And Keanu Reeves deserves a special commendation for risking his career playing a major religious figure, always the kiss of death in Hollywood’s mind.

Yes, I did recommend that Shirleypal view Little Buddha; I’m glad that she liked it; and I invite you, not merely to view the movie on You Tube, but then to write extensively about it on this thread. But that, of course, is entirely too much for me to ask…

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 04:53 PM

Joe I agree the movie is very un-american, more so in 1994 then today, if it had been released today I think there would be more acceptance of reincarnation, not saying we've come a long way, maybe a baby step.
As you Joe, this part struck me as well, the tale of Siddhartha’s discovery of the Four Passing Sights (old age, sickness, death and renunciation).

What also struck me was knowing when it was your time, and sitting in mediatation until the end, it reminds me of the Native American tradition of going into the woods when it's their time to go home.

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 09-01-2009 06:53 PM

(Slightly off-topic, but not really)

Shirley, (if you haven't already seen it) you might enjoy a film called Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring. You, too, Joe. It's a Korean film (w/subtitles). Absolutely. Beautiful.

Official website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/spring/

IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374546/

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 07:01 PM

Thank you Joolz, will watch in the next few days..

Shirleypal · Post by **Shirleypal** » 09-01-2009 07:10 PM

Thought it was on youtube, there are more then sixty scenes on youtube but in no particulalr order.

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 09-01-2009 10:10 PM

You'd have to rent this one, I think... don't think it is available online anywhere.