Little Buddha

Infobox_Film
name = Little Buddha


director = Bernardo Bertolucci
writer = Bernardo Bertolucci (story)
Rudy Wurlitzer
Mark Peploe
starring = Keanu Reeves
Bridget Fonda
Chris Isaak
Ruocheng Ying
producer = Jeremy Thomas
music = Ryuichi Sakamoto
cinematography = Vittorio Storaro
editing = Pietro Scalia
distributor = Miramax Films
released = 1993
runtime = 140 min.
language = | English budget =
imdb_id = 0107426

"Little Buddha" is a 1993 American movie by director Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Bridget Fonda and Keanu Reeves.

Plot

Little Buddha is a story about the quest of a group of monks, led by Lama Norbu (Ruocheng Ying), to seek out the reincarnation of his great Buddhist teacher, Lama Dorje (Geshe Tsultim Gyeltsen). Lama Norbu and his fellow monks believe they have found a candidate of Dorje's reincarnation within a boy named Jesse Conrad (Alex Wiesendanger) in Seattle. While Jesse is fascinated with the monks and their way of life, his parents, Dean (Chris Isaak) and Lisa (Bridget Fonda), are wary, and that wariness turns into near-hostility when Norbu announces that he would like to take Jesse back with him to Bhutan to be tested. Jesse's father changes his mind however, after one of his close friends and colleagues commits suicide, seeming to realize that there could be more to life than work and money. He then decides to go to Bhutan with his son. In Nepal, two children who are also candidates are encountered, Raju (Rajuh Lal) and Gita (Greishma Makar Singh).

In the story, the Lama Norbu relates Buddha's life story from a book entitled "Little Buddha," which is also enacted as a story within the movie. In the story, a Hindu prince called Siddhartha sets on a journey to achieve his goal. Mara, a jealous demon, senses that Siddhartha (Keanu Reeves) is about to attain enlightenment and sends his daughters to distract him. Failing to do so, he attempts to shatter Siddhartha’s resolve and thus begins an onslaught of threats, intimidation and temptation. Mara summons a terrifying horde of monsters of every conceivable description but even something as horrific as this still leaves Siddhartha unmoved, unperturbed. Instead he transforms the weapons which these hosts throw at him into lotus petals which exude a lovely fragrance as they gently floated down to earth. Mara decides that Siddhartha will not deny himself and turns into his image in a reflection on a pool of water. Instead Siddhartha reaches and pulls the image out of the water. The classic Buddhist dialogue between Mara and Siddhartha takes place:

Mara: "You who go where others dare not; Will you be my God? The architect of my house?"
Siddhartha: "Finally I meet the illusion of self; Your evil house will not be built again."
Mara: "But you live in me; I "am" your house."
Siddhartha: "O, trickster; phantom of my own ego, you are pure illusion. You, self, do not exist. The earth is my witness."

Lama Norbu explains that Siddhartha defeated an army of demons, simply through his observance of patience and tolerance. He achieved great peacefulness and compassion, through self-detachment from illusions.

In the end, it is found that all three children are reincarnations of the Lama Dorje, separate manifestations of his body (Raju), speech (Gita), and mind (Jesse). A ceremony is held and and Jesse's father also learns the facts about Buddhism. Lama Dorju's reincarnation represents the three most important aspects of life. A funeral is held for Lama Norbu. The children distribute his ashes to respect Norbu's teaching of reincarnation through setting off the ashes in many places.

Trivia

The Buddha flashback scenes of "Little Buddha" were photographed in 65 mm Todd-AO by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. The rest of the film was filmed in conventional 35 mm Panavision.

In a scene involving Lama Norbu, prominent Tulku Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche made a small cameo appearance, a nod to his role as a consultant to Bertolucci. In a later documentary entitled "Words of my Perfect Teacher", the film is referenced with behind the scenes look at the filming of "Little Buddha".

At the end of the end credits, the sand mandala that was being constructed throughout the movie is seen destroyed "with one swift stroke."

External links

*
*
* [http://www.dharmaflix.com/wiki/Little_Buddha Dharma site review of film]