Little Buddha (1993)

Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class ... See full summary »

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Bernardo Bertolucci (story), Rudy Wurlitzer (screenplay),

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Ruocheng Ying, Chris Isaak

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Siddhartha
Ruocheng Ying	...	Lama Norbu (as Ying Ruocheng)
Chris Isaak	...	Dean Conrad
Alex Wiesendanger	...	Jesse Conrad
Raju Lal	...	Raju
Greishma Makar Singh	...	Gita
Sogyal Rinpoche	...	Kenpo Tenzin
Ven. Khyongla Rato Rinpoche	...	Abbot
Bridget Fonda	...	Lisa Conrad
Ven. Geshe Tsultim Gyelsen	...	Lama Dorje
Jo Champa	...	Maria
Jigme Kunsang	...	Champa
Thubtem Jampa	...	Punzo
Surekha Sikri	...	Sonali (as Surehka Sikri)
T.K. Lama	...	Sangay

Storyline

Lama Norbu comes to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his dead teacher, Lama Dorje. His search leads him to young Jesse Conrad, Raju, a waif from Kathmandu, and an upper class Indian girl. Together, they journey to Bhutan where the three children must undergo a test to prove which is the true reincarnation. Interspersed with this, is the story of Siddharta, later known as the Buddha. It traces his spiritual journey from ignorance to true enlightenment.

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Plot Keywords:

reincarnation | enlightenment | buddhism | misery | seattle washington | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some disturbing images

Details

Country:

Italy France Liechtenstein UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lille Buddha

Filming Locations:

Bhutan

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,858,139 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), CiBy 2000, Serprocor Anstalt

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Digital (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the scene in the forest with the ascetics where Siddartha becomes emaciated from lack of food, Keanu Reeves went on a crash diet of oranges and water.

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Goofs

When Raju is playing with the Game Boy you can hear music from Tetris, but it's actually not turned on at all.

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Quotes

Old Man: Car broken, sir?
Young Monk: Yah.
Old Man: Very bad karma!

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Crazy Credits

(Opening disclaimer) This film is inspired by the true life stories of several children and their extraordinary voyage of discovery.

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Connections

Referenced in Hagan Reviews: Eat the Schoolgirl (2012)

User Reviews

A very thoughtful movie, if you give it a chance.

Bertolucci is a director who doesn't keep making the same movie.

Little Buddha has much about it that can be praised. It shows much, tells some, and demands of the viewer some thought. This is not something always appreciated by the viewer. The key to understanding this movie, I believe, is not the search for the reincarnation of an important Buddhist teacher, nor is it the life of the Buddha up to the time he achieves enlightenment, but the way a child, or children, and an old man, come to understand together something of the connections that may exist between themselves. We don't see through a character's eyes, we watch the effects of the characters on each other. In particular, Jesse, the 9 year old American who may or may not be the reincarnation, holds our attention because we watch him absorb the lessons that are being taught, and as he learns them, he grows in ways we can expect a 9 year old to grow. We also watch his father, whose character becomes more sympathetic as the movie progresses, who has even further to grow than his son, because he has already learned too much.

The movie is also beautiful to watch. The cinematography, the editing and the direction combine to provide just the right dramatic tension to a movie whose pacing is deceptive, in that it seems slow, but is not. The ultimate result is that a viewer who allows it, will find him or herself transported for a little while, to unexpected places.