Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

AdamFrench0017 My older brother brought this movie for me for a present when i was young and it taught me a lot about self sacrifice and following your heart to what ever end. Many lessons to be seen in the film if you choose to see them. A must watch.

mirasukurova Film response by Mira Sukurova on "Little Buddha". The film "Little Buddha" has two layers. One is telling the magnificent life story of Buddha which happened 2500 years ago. This is the base myth of the Buddhism. The other layer is the story of an American boy, who supposedly is a reincarnation of the sacred teacher of the Buddhist Lama. I think the creators of the movie have done a good job telling the Buddhist story adjusting it for the viewers with non-Buddhist way of thinking. The scenes about the life of Buddha and his enlightenment story are very beautiful and pleasant to watch. They represent the thinking and philosophy of the Buddhist religion. It beautifully teaches the ideas of compassion to other people, need for balance rather than extremes and impermanence. Concerning the last, I especially liked the scene with mandala, when they do the painstaking work of drawing the mandala with the sand, and brushing it off at the end. The film tries to show the parallels between the worldviews of an American family and Buddhist monks, presenting the non-acceptance of a boy's father at the beginning. However, I think the misunderstanding between the two cultures and belief systems was not shown as a real picture. This is why, the real part of the film looked very unnatural. The parents, especially mother, seemed to easily accept and believe to what random strange Tibetan monks said. The filmmakers should have developed a weighted reasoning behind such unquestioning trust. On the other hand, the choice of the colors was very successful in order to show the difference between the materialistic, rational West and the spiritual, mystical East. All American scenes were colored in cold blue and grey, while parts in the Kingdom Buthan were colored in bright vivid curcumin color. I did not quite understand the ending of the film, when all three of the kids turned out to be the reincarnated versions of the Lama Dorji's passed away teacher. It was very unexpected for me, a s I thought that creatures can reincarnate in one body, living think or as they call it, a container. However, it was a nice idea to put together three children with three absolutely different backgrounds- a Kathmandu homeless kid, a noble Indian girl and an ordinary American boy. The idea of the equality between all of them that the authors were trying to show is very teaching. The film seems to be very kind, light and thought-provoking from the beginning till the end. It teaches the basic Buddha story that most of us know without any deep original thoughts. It also teaches the philosophy of life. The film resembles a kind cautionary tale for the kids, and at some points becomes a little boring to watch. The speed could have been made a little higher. All in all, it was a very pleasant film to watch- light and abounding with many beautiful breath-taking scenes. The main actor, Keanu Reeves, looked very good in his role of Buddha, and I did not even recognize him at first. However, there was one scene with him that I did not like- his weird mockery smile when God Mara was incapable of defeating him. I don't really think Buddha would have acted like this. But overall, he has done a good job portraying Buddha.

The_Film_Cricket The biggest problem with Bernardo Bertolucci's 'Little Buddha' is that he establishes an intriguing idea and then doesn't know what to do with it. Here's the idea: In Seattle an American couple is approached by two Buddhist monks who drop in their lap the idea that their son might, just might be the reincarnation of their teacher.The movie is a long series of arguments by unwritten characters. This fascination idea is given more of a simple brush off. Most of the important scenes don't take place on screen and there is no emotional conflict to retain our interest.Intercut with this story is the story of Prince Siddhartha who sat under a tree for seven year and later became the Buddha. His journey is much more interesting but it raises more questions then it answers especially if your knowledge of Buddhist history is not so good 'Little Buddha' is two stories but they both seem half-finished. For those of us who enjoyed 'The Last Emperor' another Bertolucci film about a boy with greatness on his shoulders this one comes off rather stale.

Chris Wellins A great story, told by an obviously Mahayana Buddhist, where all the mystical elements were applied, but didn't actually take away from the story of Keanu Reeves as the Buddha. I guess that was the only downside for me. Keanu Reeves as the Buddha. I couldn't stop laughing, all I saw when I looked at him in the movie was him playing in Bill & Teds series. "Be excellent to each other". But for real, a good retell of the buddhas life which is what I was looking for when I started watching this movie. I found it interesting that the director chose to through the buddha's whole story in and it compliments well with the present and the little boy in seattle. I think that a lot of Buddhists would enjoy watching this because of the accuracy of the spiritual representation that makes up Buddhism, such as the Mahayana version of buddhas life, as well as how anyone can be the "Buddha" or in this case a "lama", and that's how the connection between the west and the east occur. Very cheesy movie but for those who want to know what Buddhism in its most basic form is all about, I would highly recommend watching it.