The Little Buddha- Movie Review
Being an Asian Studies major, I am pretty much required to be acquainted with Buddhism. In fact, I think it's pretty fascinating from many different angles, both as a philosophy and a religion. That's partly why I wanted to watch this movie.
The Little Buddha came out in 1993 from Miramax, and man, can you tell it's the early nineties. Here is the summary from IMDB:
"Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class Indian girl. Together, they journey to Bhutan where the three children must undergo a test to prove which is the true reincarnation. Interspersed with this, is the story of Siddharta, later known as the Buddha. It traces his spiritual journey from ignorance to true enlightenment."
The Plot:
The premise is fascinating. Though at first it seems like it might have the 'white guy savior' vibe' it never actually touches on it. He never particularly saves anything or is more wise than any other seven/eight-year-old kid.
Unfortunately, the premise is somewhat misleading because the story isn't about Jesse so much as it is about Siddartha and Jesse's father, Dean, played by Chris Isaak. He's the one who has the most conflict in the beginning of the story--whether or not to believe these lamas who say that Jesse may be the incarnation of Lama Dorje, the strangeness of it all and the fact that he doesn't want Jesse's imagination to run away from him and get him harmed in the end. He also has to deal feelings of worry and loss over the circumstances of a friend and finally decides to travel with the monks to Bhutan to get away from these heavy feelings and perhaps look for some enlightenment himself.
After the plot travels to Bhutan to look at other candidates, though, the initial plot just getting them there unravels a bit to throw the focus more on Siddartha's journey into Buddha. This journey is an is an interesting one and beautifully told, but as for the modern day, it seems mostly just set up for the "punchline" at the end and plenty of interesting scenery. Speaking of scenery, the fact that they used the same town both in the present, when they found Raju, and the past, where Buddha found the old/sick/etc people, was a really clever touch.
Once Buddha's story is over, though, it's awkwardly thrown back to the three children candidates and Dean standing around looking pensive and mildly upset. The ending was unexpected but not very well done either, nor explained. It felt like a cop-out to me. Though there is a good overall conclusion to the movie, in a sense. At least I liked the imagery involved.
Characters:
Lama Norbu was done well. He wasn't given too much dimension but he's a kind of stock kind/wise monk character that I like and doesn't tip into Wise Old Mr. Miyagi type mentor. He's there to fill a role and he does fill it quite well. He's kind and patient and has his own journey to undertake, though it is simpler and subtler.
Jesse, was flat and wasn't the best actor which wasn't helped by the fact that he wasn't given much to do. He doesn't show much reaction at all that he might be this reincarnation and is just sort of placid faced throughout. He only becomes afraid at one point. He says: "I'm scared" his father says: "I know, so am I" (or something to that effect) and that's the end of it. But since he really isn't the main character, it's okay. Likewise, the two other children, Raju and Gita, weren't given much to do other than be there. Gita's introduction, though, was awesome. She's a firey spirited girl and added a much needed spark to the trio. Raju just sort of follows them around and looks faintly surprised at everything.
Dean was the main character really, or in the very least the most dynamic in terms of internal conflict and he was the one who ultimately made the choice to take his son to Bhutan. That being said, and even though he does have conflicts, he still doesn't have much to do after the journey is underway, other than just stand around and take it all in. His wife Lisa, played by Bridget Fonda, was given even less to do (for all that she's prominent on the poster). Though she's believable as a character, she's also bland, there to provide some impetus for the plot to happen but not making any important decisions. Though I have to say I really like how solid their marriage was and how mature, even when it came to arguing. They were two very mature adults who respected and loved on another and that was really awesome.
Overall:
It was an okay movie. You wanted to know what happened and you felt some sympathy for some of the characters. The story of Siddartha/Buddha was beautiful. I enjoyed the costumes and the sets and honestly, I thought Buddha himself was smoking hot. That is until I discovered that
it was Keanu Reeves in Brownface. Couldn't get an actual actor of color to play the Buddha? Really?
I give it a 3 out of 5 and I probably wouldn't watch it again.
Though one part did stand out for me. Lama Norbu was talking to Dean about reincarnation and had a cup of tea. It was something like, the cup is the body, the tea is the soul. He breaks the cup, but the tea itself is everywhere and still tea, even when it's mopped up into a towel. I thought that was pretty cool.
The Little Buddha came out in 1993 from Miramax, and man, can you tell it's the early nineties. Here is the summary from IMDB:
"Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class Indian girl. Together, they journey to Bhutan where the three children must undergo a test to prove which is the true reincarnation. Interspersed with this, is the story of Siddharta, later known as the Buddha. It traces his spiritual journey from ignorance to true enlightenment."
The Plot:
The premise is fascinating. Though at first it seems like it might have the 'white guy savior' vibe' it never actually touches on it. He never particularly saves anything or is more wise than any other seven/eight-year-old kid.
Unfortunately, the premise is somewhat misleading because the story isn't about Jesse so much as it is about Siddartha and Jesse's father, Dean, played by Chris Isaak. He's the one who has the most conflict in the beginning of the story--whether or not to believe these lamas who say that Jesse may be the incarnation of Lama Dorje, the strangeness of it all and the fact that he doesn't want Jesse's imagination to run away from him and get him harmed in the end. He also has to deal feelings of worry and loss over the circumstances of a friend and finally decides to travel with the monks to Bhutan to get away from these heavy feelings and perhaps look for some enlightenment himself.
After the plot travels to Bhutan to look at other candidates, though, the initial plot just getting them there unravels a bit to throw the focus more on Siddartha's journey into Buddha. This journey is an is an interesting one and beautifully told, but as for the modern day, it seems mostly just set up for the "punchline" at the end and plenty of interesting scenery. Speaking of scenery, the fact that they used the same town both in the present, when they found Raju, and the past, where Buddha found the old/sick/etc people, was a really clever touch.
Once Buddha's story is over, though, it's awkwardly thrown back to the three children candidates and Dean standing around looking pensive and mildly upset. The ending was unexpected but not very well done either, nor explained. It felt like a cop-out to me. Though there is a good overall conclusion to the movie, in a sense. At least I liked the imagery involved.
Characters:
Lama Norbu was done well. He wasn't given too much dimension but he's a kind of stock kind/wise monk character that I like and doesn't tip into Wise Old Mr. Miyagi type mentor. He's there to fill a role and he does fill it quite well. He's kind and patient and has his own journey to undertake, though it is simpler and subtler.
Jesse, was flat and wasn't the best actor which wasn't helped by the fact that he wasn't given much to do. He doesn't show much reaction at all that he might be this reincarnation and is just sort of placid faced throughout. He only becomes afraid at one point. He says: "I'm scared" his father says: "I know, so am I" (or something to that effect) and that's the end of it. But since he really isn't the main character, it's okay. Likewise, the two other children, Raju and Gita, weren't given much to do other than be there. Gita's introduction, though, was awesome. She's a firey spirited girl and added a much needed spark to the trio. Raju just sort of follows them around and looks faintly surprised at everything.
Dean was the main character really, or in the very least the most dynamic in terms of internal conflict and he was the one who ultimately made the choice to take his son to Bhutan. That being said, and even though he does have conflicts, he still doesn't have much to do after the journey is underway, other than just stand around and take it all in. His wife Lisa, played by Bridget Fonda, was given even less to do (for all that she's prominent on the poster). Though she's believable as a character, she's also bland, there to provide some impetus for the plot to happen but not making any important decisions. Though I have to say I really like how solid their marriage was and how mature, even when it came to arguing. They were two very mature adults who respected and loved on another and that was really awesome.
Overall:
It was an okay movie. You wanted to know what happened and you felt some sympathy for some of the characters. The story of Siddartha/Buddha was beautiful. I enjoyed the costumes and the sets and honestly, I thought Buddha himself was smoking hot. That is until I discovered that
it was Keanu Reeves in Brownface. Couldn't get an actual actor of color to play the Buddha? Really?
I give it a 3 out of 5 and I probably wouldn't watch it again.
Though one part did stand out for me. Lama Norbu was talking to Dean about reincarnation and had a cup of tea. It was something like, the cup is the body, the tea is the soul. He breaks the cup, but the tea itself is everywhere and still tea, even when it's mopped up into a towel. I thought that was pretty cool.