Wheel of time
“Documentary film about the largest Buddhist ritual to promote peace and tolerance, held by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya, India and Graz, Austria in 2002, including exclusive interviews with the Dalai Lama, access to secret rituals for the first time on film as well as footage of a pilgrimage to the Holy Mount Kailash in Tibet.”
From Wernerherzog.com
I had the amazing privilege to see this film yesterday. It was a piece of cinematic integrity. I have been to Bodhgaya, and some of the first photographs I took in my life were of the temple and the bodhi tree there. However, I have never considered it to be a place of cinematic material. I realized after watching this film, how uninformed we are of the depth and nuances of the religious traditions we take so much for granted. This film made me wonder, think and maybe created a longing to visit the places shown.
The film starts with showing tents and hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks and followers who gather for the “kaalchakra” ceremony. The kaal chakra is the “ Wheel of Time” a symbol of the universe. It is created with colored sand, in three dimensions, through days of painstaking and precise effort on the part of the monk. Its creation is an act of artistic and spiritual unity.. Buddhists believe that its creation will bring peace and unity to the earth. Herzog, brings us frames of those who make the journey to Gaya over thousands of miles on foot, those who serve others, the Dalai lama. His ability to take us into the moment without any provocation or unnecessary emotional comments is exemplary. His respect for the event shows in his sensitive handling of shots, many of which stay with the viewer long after the screen turns dark. He is consistent in this even with his other films. The ceremony eventually gets cancelled after all preparation, and yet the serenity never leaves the film.
He then takes us to Mt Kailash, where believers circle the mountain and hoist prayer flags in a Saga Dawa ceremony. The landscape is beautiful and this is authentic filming at its best. Herzog, maintains a distance, observing and asking questions, that never cross over to the barrenness of the irreverent, neither does he show any propensity to get entangled emotionally. His artistic integrity is immense, even in depicting a spiritual ceremony.
In the final piece of the film, the kaalchakra ceremony takes place in Austria, and the contrast between the people and the culture is highlighted, without making a big show of it. There are bodyguards, Western clothes, an auditorium, and in all the atmosphere is very different from that in Gaya where the other ceremony was aborted. Is it possible to show contrast and compare without judging? I always thought this was an impossible feat, but Werner performs this amazing tightrope walk with amazing dexterity.
A must watch, if you ever get the opportunity to see it.
From Wernerherzog.com
I had the amazing privilege to see this film yesterday. It was a piece of cinematic integrity. I have been to Bodhgaya, and some of the first photographs I took in my life were of the temple and the bodhi tree there. However, I have never considered it to be a place of cinematic material. I realized after watching this film, how uninformed we are of the depth and nuances of the religious traditions we take so much for granted. This film made me wonder, think and maybe created a longing to visit the places shown.
The film starts with showing tents and hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks and followers who gather for the “kaalchakra” ceremony. The kaal chakra is the “ Wheel of Time” a symbol of the universe. It is created with colored sand, in three dimensions, through days of painstaking and precise effort on the part of the monk. Its creation is an act of artistic and spiritual unity.. Buddhists believe that its creation will bring peace and unity to the earth. Herzog, brings us frames of those who make the journey to Gaya over thousands of miles on foot, those who serve others, the Dalai lama. His ability to take us into the moment without any provocation or unnecessary emotional comments is exemplary. His respect for the event shows in his sensitive handling of shots, many of which stay with the viewer long after the screen turns dark. He is consistent in this even with his other films. The ceremony eventually gets cancelled after all preparation, and yet the serenity never leaves the film.
He then takes us to Mt Kailash, where believers circle the mountain and hoist prayer flags in a Saga Dawa ceremony. The landscape is beautiful and this is authentic filming at its best. Herzog, maintains a distance, observing and asking questions, that never cross over to the barrenness of the irreverent, neither does he show any propensity to get entangled emotionally. His artistic integrity is immense, even in depicting a spiritual ceremony.
In the final piece of the film, the kaalchakra ceremony takes place in Austria, and the contrast between the people and the culture is highlighted, without making a big show of it. There are bodyguards, Western clothes, an auditorium, and in all the atmosphere is very different from that in Gaya where the other ceremony was aborted. Is it possible to show contrast and compare without judging? I always thought this was an impossible feat, but Werner performs this amazing tightrope walk with amazing dexterity.
A must watch, if you ever get the opportunity to see it.
posted by Sumita | 6:57 AM
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