[Buddha-l] nytimes review of pbs The Buddha

[JKirkpatrick]

Different from The Buddha film, which I watched tonight but found
it to be flawed in the usual ways (too many cameo appearances of
famous(?) folks---I also got to see Unmistaken Child, about
Tibetan Gelugpa Buddhists searching for a reincarnated teacher,
Konchog Lama of Kopan Monastery in Nepal (but mostly he of
Milarepa's old cave up in the mountains). Because it was screened
again on another PBS channel I got to watch it twice. 

The only flaw this time, for me anyway and it's a persisting
gripe about a lot of films, was the constant musical background
noise. Places where chanting is appropriate--fine. But even the
nicest music becomes muzac to my ears when you cannot hear the
sounds of nature, or people, uncluttered by a soundtrack. And
there's a lot of glorious nature in Unmistaken Child as the young
monk goes searching into the hills. There are touching scenes of
families with possible infant candidates, where you can't hear
them conversing because of the incessant muzac.  An Israeli
filmmaker did this one, and he took 4 years making it because he
had to keep going back as the baby's life moved forward toward
the time when he's taken to meet HHDL. No hired actors. It took
the filmmaker some time to get permission to make this film, and
he did a bang up job of it. HHDL names the toddler--he's his
usual brisk self--the young monk on the search (for his late
teacher) is thoughtful, comforting with the toddler, quiet and so
happy once his old teacher is found. The film does not desert the
child's parents, either.
Highly recommended.
joanna