Little Buddha Movie Review 1993

Tibetan Lama Norbu informs the Seattle Konrad family that their 10-year-old son Jesse may be the reincarnation of a respected monk. He wants to take the boy back to Tibet to find out and, with some apparently minor doubts, the family head off on their spiritual quest. In an effort to instruct Jesse in Buddhism, this journey is interspersed with the story of Prince Siddhartha, who will leave behind his worldly ways to follow the path towards enlightenment and become the Buddha. The two stories are an ill-fit, the acting awkward (with the exception of Ruocheng as the wise Norbu), but boy, does the film look good (from cinematographer Vittorio Storaro). Filmed on location in Nepal and Bhutan.

Distribution

Miramax Film Corp., 8439 W Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069-1921, Phone: (323)650-2937, URL: http://www.miramax.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 123 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Buddhism, Family Ties, Religion, Childhood Visions, Asia, Seattle, Reincarnation

Screenplay

Mark Peploe, Rudy Wurlitzer

Cast

Keanu Reeves, Alex Wiesendanger, Ying Ruocheng, Chris Isaak, Bridget Fonda

Cinematography

Vittorio Storaro

Director

Bernardo Bertolucci

Music

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Producer

Jeremy Thomas, CIBY 2000, Recorded Pictures Company, Miramax