Amongst White Clouds
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Movie Reviews of Amongst White Clouds
Movie Review: An exquisite film
Summary: 5 Stars
A meditative and quite absorbing look at hermit monks and nuns living on a remote mountain top in China, this film had me thinking throughout it "I could do something like this."
Of course, I almost certainly couldn't, but I actually think it is a testimony to the film-makers art that he can create such an intimate and unpretentious piece. The camera lingers on the hermits' faces and their simple dwellings, for the most part allowing the hermits to speak and tell their stories. Inspired in part by the wonderful book by Bill Porter (Road to Heaven - an absolute must-read), this is a fascinating insight into a way of life that is ancient and, I fear, endangered.
And what a charming bunch they are. A cheerful, chubby-faced old nun takes us up to a mountain spring while she siphons her drinking water, and a half-mad old monk admonishes a junior member of his community to speak up so that the camera crew can hear him better.
This is a film free from didacticism or any clumsy attempt to create some sort of artificial narrative. It is a simple journey amongst hermits, going from one to another as any pilgrim would, sitting at their feet and absorbing heir wisdom, at times profound and at times mundane.
I absolutely loved it, and found that watching this film was itself a meditative process, and exercise in contemplation. Wonderful stuff.
Movie Review: A long tradition survives
Summary: 5 Stars
Most scholars assumed long ago that the Taoist/Buddhist hermit tradition in China had died out with the coming of the Communist regime. Renowned author and scholar John Blofeld always lamented this loss in his numerous books on the subjects.
Inspired by the ground breaking work of American Chan and Taoist author/scholar, Red Pine, "Amongst White Clouds" has given us solid film evidence that the hermit tradition is very much alive in China and had, in fact, never disappeared completely.
It was wonderful to see that the profiled hermits also included a woman. Although the interview format is very basic, the spiritual nature of each recluse is readily perceived by the viewer.
Any serious student of Chan and Taoist studies will find this documentary a sheer delight to watch.
Movie Review: amazing movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD is amazing. It opens with the young man who has a huge love for China and just starts out wanting to see the country and learn the language. He then takes you to the most beautiful areas. The monks and people he gets to visit have huge spirit. You can see it in their faces and just how spirit comes from them.
So worth watching and seeing the young man grow over this time period.
thank you to the movie maker. just amazing. I have watched it over many times but do suggest you watch it first with the sub titles underneath to hear what all is going on. Then just watch it for the country side then for the people.
I have started to loan out the DVD and have many more of my friends wanting to see it
Movie Review: Understated, very successfully simple documentary
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent movie, by a filmmaker who brings rare authority. How rare to see a Westerner invest the time and effort actually to become fluent in another language; fluent enough to study under these hermits and make a movie about them!
That said, this is not really a film "about" Buddhism; it's more like having tea with a succession of people who have dedicated themselves to the practice. The hermits, men and women of various ages, are depicted as individuals with personalities and pasts, and their practice as worthwhile.
A really fine document; makes you feel like you're hiking the trail yourself.
Robin
Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey Hermit
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Movie Review: Amongst White Clouds is down to earth
Summary: 5 Stars
Amongst White Clouds is the DVD of one man's search for enlightenment among China's hermit monks. It is really more than a documentary. If you are patient, there is real teaching offered in each vignette that gives someone who might be interested in a path of spiritual practice true insight into the benefits as well as the difficulties in such an endeavor. Yet, throughout there is a real sense of this very rich tradition and community. The chanting and musical track overlays are well timed and communicate that ineffable longing and completion that are the matrix of a spiritual journey. I give this one 5 stars.