SXSW documentary about Buddhist monks morphs into a journey of self-discovery.
On second thought, “design” may be too intentional a word to describe this documentary-slash-personal-narrative; by director Ahsen Nadeem's, he abandoned the project for years at a stretch and never intended to insert himself into the story.
One gathers the film’s original intention was to straightforwardly document life inside a secretive Buddhist monastery on Mount Hiei in Japan, where “marathon monks” are famed for walking for punishing lengths of time on the path to enlightenment. In voiceover, Nadeem explains he’d been trying to gain entry for years, while also hinting at some inner turmoil of his own.
Born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents and relocated first to Ireland and then America, Nadeem looks a little like’s Tony Hale. In his more blundering moments, he recalls that actor’s most famous creation, Buster Bluth. He appears fairly inept at the job at hand – to make a film about these fascinating and inscrutable monks – and about as hapless when it comes to his personal life .
Nadeem’s personal drama is all very watchable, but what saves the film from total solipsism is another character – as in, “he’s a real character.” Through some miraculous combination of shoe leather and serendipity, Nadeem meets Ryushin, a low-level monk with a sweet tooth and soft spot for heavy metal, working in the monastery’s gift shop. Ryushin is just as lost – no, make that– and the tender bond filmmaker and subject is the making of the film.
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