I have to be honest, I'm pretty biased about this movie because I use parts of it in my class to teach my World history students about the origins of Buddhism.
Even with this bias, I do think that this movie is worth watching. as the name implies, the movie is about Siddhartha Gautama's journey from Prince to The Buddha (The Enlightened) one. But before I go any further, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. Yes. For some reason Bernardo Bertolucci decided to cast Keanu Reeves as Buddha. Why he decided to do this is beyond me. Reeves is not Indian and... let me whisper this part... is not a good actor. Don't get me wrong, Keanu Reeves is an entertaining actor, but that doesn't make him a good one. I love him as John Wick, Johnny Utah and Ted "Theodore" Logan. I have seen those movies probably a combined one hundred times, but that does not mean he's the type of actor who can pull off playing the founder of a religion. In just about every scene he is in, I expect him to say "Whoa", "Yes" or 'i did not reach enlightenment to learn how to surf". Sadly, he never does.
Another very strange choice is casting Chris Isaac... a singer... as a main character in the movie. Aside from his amazing "Wicked Game" music video (which had a lot more to do with Helena Christensen than Isaac) I don't recall seeing him in any other large role. And there is a reason why. He's not an actor.
Well then how can I saw this movie is worth a watch? Well as a teacher, I respect any movie that can teach a lesson. This one does a really good job of teaching how Prince Siddhartha becomes the Buddha. It starts with the miracle of his birth and takes us through his time as a very sheltered prince who never witnesses any type of suffering. While his father the king was trying to shield his son from suffering, like what happens with many overbearing parents, his child grows up to want to do the exact opposite. He not only wants to know about and experience suffering, he dedicates his life to stopping it.
This movie is also based on a true story... and I don't mean about Buddha. Whether that is true or not is left up to the hearts of the followers of Buddhism. The part that is true concerns a little American boy who some Buddhist monks think might be the reincarnation of their teacher. Bertolucci uses this story about a real little boy learning about Buddha as a vehicle to teach the audience the same lesson. Along the way, they share some very cool beliefs of Buddhism, show how similar it is to other religions, and even makes a point to show that Buddha and Jesus had quite a bit in common. I love any content that brings viewers together instead of driving them apart.
Bad acting aside, the story is compelling and even involves a little mystery as there are two other candidates who could possibly be the reincarnation of the teacher. It is actually one of the more entertaining history lessons out there. I really enjoy how they used a creative and interesting modern story in order to tell the historical beginnings of Buddhism.
Has anyone else seen this? Anny Buddhists out there who can give their take?