The movie tries to capture the atmosphere of daily life in a Zen monastery and does so really brilliantly. I have seen quite a few documentaries about Zen/buddhism over the years, but this is probably the best I've ever seen (for me personally). Watching it, I really got dragged into the monastery with them, and reached total peace of mind and stillness, as if I was having one of these blessed meditations where you're totally in the zone. What an impact. There is no commentator, the camera just follows the spiritual practice of a Swiss woman called Sabine Timoteo. Filmed extremely beautifully, it really is photography in motion. You could easily pick a selection of shots from the movie and have an exhibition.
Of course there is no story development, the spiritual process is leading you nowhere, it takes you out of the story, that's the whole point! So if the spiritual process is just not your thing, and you expect a 'normal movie' where stuff happens, you should probably skip this one.
Review of Zen for Nothing
