I'm a Buddhist and absolutely adore the Dalai Lama. His kindness and compassion are simply breath-taking and I felt that from this film, which is undoubtedly beautiful, but a few parts irked me. For example, the constant referral of Buddhism as "a religion" (both verbally and implied), which felt very Western - as if people wouldn't understand that Buddhism is a way of life - a desire for enlightenment and attainment of peace, so it was Westernised into it being "a religion" as an easy explanation. As the 14th said himself, "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.". I think people get "spirituality" and "religion" mixed up way too easily - the whole Buddhist portrayal was actually rather shallow, which is deeply sad.
I found the blaring music to be entirely over the top. It blares out, over and over, sounding as if it should be in a high-stakes action movie. It was loud - too loud, I thought, for a pretty gentle film.
I didn't really enjoy the cinema of the film (I felt it was meant to be "art" more than anything) - I did enjoy the portrayal of the 14th, and it made me cry more than once. I read that a few people found it "passionless", which I didn't - he is a Buddhist monk - they are non-violent and seek to master their mind - of course there are going to be subdued reactions from himself and others. Another quote from the 14th, "When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength." That said, the scenes in which he cries were incredibly powerful.
So... I liked it and disliked it. It was emotionally powerful but not at all a good representation into Buddhism or even fact - there is more than one part that have been nay-said by not only the Lama himself, but also his mother, and by photographic evidence of the events in China.
I found the blaring music to be entirely over the top. It blares out, over and over, sounding as if it should be in a high-stakes action movie. It was loud - too loud, I thought, for a pretty gentle film.
I didn't really enjoy the cinema of the film (I felt it was meant to be "art" more than anything) - I did enjoy the portrayal of the 14th, and it made me cry more than once. I read that a few people found it "passionless", which I didn't - he is a Buddhist monk - they are non-violent and seek to master their mind - of course there are going to be subdued reactions from himself and others. Another quote from the 14th, "When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength." That said, the scenes in which he cries were incredibly powerful.
So... I liked it and disliked it. It was emotionally powerful but not at all a good representation into Buddhism or even fact - there is more than one part that have been nay-said by not only the Lama himself, but also his mother, and by photographic evidence of the events in China.