AmateurMovieReviews.com

Review by Garnet Brooks

This is a Bernardo Bertolucci film. Those interested in Bertolucci career may want to go to imdb.com, a great resource. Bertolucci both wrote and directed the film. Its star is Keanu Reeves. Reeves is able to make his deadpan style work very well here as Prince Siddhartha. The film has other stars in central roles: Chris Isaak as the boy Jesse's father and Bridget Fonda as the boy's mother.

The story is complex. It is really two films interlaced together: the story of Jesse, a young American boy who may be the reincarnation of a recently dead priest and of Prince Siddhartha who is on his way to becoming the Buddha. In the opening credits it says that the story is based on real events. The Buddha story is related in ancient religious texts but there is also a book version by Hermann Hesse that is very readable.

Jesse is a young boy living in Seattle. A priest Lama Norbu hearing of him comes from Bhutan to Seattle to visit the child. It is a strange contrast to see Lama Norbu in his Tibetan monastery and shortly afterwards in America. In Tibet he is surrounded by children clad in the reddish-orange robes. They play and laugh as children do. The priests are capable of humor and humanity even when retelling sacred parables. Lama Norbu and two companions are next seen driving on the freeway in a big modern city. They stay at the local Dharma Center and make a visit to the Conrad's house. Jesse's mother is curious and allows visits. She reads the story of Siddhartha from a child's book version with Jesse. Jesse is allowed to visit the Dharma Center and seems genuinely enamored with the teachings. It is when Lama Norbu wants to take Jesse to Katmandu that his mother begins to resist. His father however agrees to take time off from work and go with Jesse and the priests.

When Jesse is reading about Siddhartha we first see the young Siddhartha (Keanu Reeves). His father is a powerful king and his mother dies when he is very young. There are elaborate myths around Siddhartha's birth and youth. His father tries to shield him from all things that might distress him. No one is allowed to let the young prince see starvation, old age, or death. When he demands to go out on his own no one dares refuse him. What he sees shocks him out of the innocent happiness of his privileged existence. He cannot endure it and wants to leave to seek spiritual enlightenment. As a youth, Siddhartha has already married and had a child before he feels called to find his spiritual path. He leaves them falling in with a group of stoic men in the wilderness. They distrust the desires of the flesh and are extreme in depriving themselves. Siddhartha spends several years with them before realizing that deprivation alone is not the path to enlightenment.

The story of Jesse continues. In Katmandu he finds and becomes friends with a young street urchin. The boy is also a candidate. One of the two may be the reincarnation of the beloved priest. They soon find that there is one more candidate: a slightly older and rather bossy girl. Her family are very devout and knew the priest slightly before he died. The children play together and hear more of the life of the young Siddhartha. They imagine it vividly and come to know how he was tempted and how he became the Buddha.

The film manages to create suspense about who will be the reincarnated one among the children. Like all children there is a bit of competition between them. The outcome is odd and surprising.

As is usual for Bertolucci, his film is visually rich and beautiful. Much of it has golden undertones which somehow convey the calm and serenity that one supposes go along with enlightenment. The cinematography is wonderful. The story of Buddha is told with simplicity and respect. It manages to convey important spiritual messages without being dogmatic or preachy. Siddhartha's story is interwoven with lively renditions of a host of creatures in their magical and fascinating settings. Besides its obvious merits, the film is a painless way to get an introduction to Buddhism.