Kumaré (2012)

I love this movie so much

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Kumaré is a fascinating exploration of religious culture and the New age movement that has been ever growing as a form of bringing Eastern forms of thought and philosophy to a Western audience. As someone who has had first hand experience in this world of rituals, chants and self improvement I was deeply fascinated by both the premise and the twists and turns of the film. Kumaré takes a deep dive into the world of spiritual gurus as an everyman, film director Vikram Gandhi decides to experience first hand what it means to be a spiritual guru and whether this whole New-age deal is complete nonsense of is there in fact something deeper that people can dwell into. it's a very very interesting look into this idea of the New age and the modern man's need for self fulfilment purpose and the existential fulfilment that these modern gurus are able to fulfill. Personally my experience with the film drew many parallels with many so called 'gurus' that I have personally had experiences with, while never fully convinced of these 'holy men' and 'advanced being' or whatever they choose to call themselves I always had the personal agenda that aligned very much with Vikram's visions in that we ourselves have the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong and to self improve. The most interesting parts of the documentary reflect this belief and how this agenda of Vikram eventually divulges into a belief system of his own. Just going to show that while the idea of a spiritual guru or spiritual leader may be simply phathomed out of thin air the sense of belief that people are able to mirror and reflect onto the figure or themselves is undisputedly real and genuine. Kumaré takes audiences on a fascinating exploration of this idea and director Vikram's eventual conclusion of this genuine relationship and bond that actually came out of an idea that had no authentic basis. I wonderfully emotional and suspenseful documentary for anyone who has any interest in the subject matter.

"Kumaré" is a bit like a Hindu version of "Marjoe." And like that movie, we end up wondering if the audience, too, is being taken on a ride. Deceptive charisma can cut both ways. Most documentaries rely on a certain amount of editorial manipulation to create a coherent narrative. Sometimes the business of creating narrative crosses the line between events that happen and events that are constructed. Many instances during the film raised doubts about documentary fidelity:1. The participants seem unaware of the camera, even when it is right in front of them. Were they coached so successfully that they never glanced at it?2. How did Gandhi get signed legal release forms from all these people? Were they compensated for their participation?3. Was ALL the footage real-time recording or were some of the scenes reenacted? Was any of it scripted or rehearsed?Gandhi probably could have withheld the final reveal from us until the end of the movie. He decides instead to clue us in on the deception from the beginning (and that's where Gandhi's role as a reliable narrator comes into question). Doing so allows the use of circular form -- starting the movie near "the end" and backtracking to the setup and then proceeding forward again until we catch up with the opening scene. The problem with that, however, is that waiting well over an hour to see how an "unveiling" to which we are already privy will play out begins to wear on the viewer's patience. This would have been a stronger film at half its unnecessarily drawn-out length.The film's strongest aspect is the implied examination of the strife between rational and emotional epistemology. Rationalists want to know whether or not the Emperor is actually wearing new clothes as a point of objective and external reality. Emotionalists want to see beauty in the new clothes that the Emperor may or may not be wearing and are willing to create an internal reality that feeds their expectations. Winnowing out what is real and what is not may not be at the epicenter of belief acquisition for everyone. In the end, we see that spiritualism is a kind of stone soup. The characterization may be a deception because the stone has no taste, but the soup is still flavorful because of the bits of meat and carrot and potato that the believers bring to the broth. People yearn to be in fellowship with others. Almost any stone that can make that happen is going to attract people. But it shouldn't take 84 minutes to underscore that point.

It's said that Vikram Gandhi "impersonated" in Indian guru for this documentary but it seems like the deception he carried out was limited to speaking with an Indian accent rather than his own New Jersey one, wearing robes, and growing his hair and beard -- external elements that his disciples interpret in ways that vastly change their interpretations of the actual content of what he says. The film starts as a sort of practical expose of false gurus, and it never loses its power in that way -- these people are all very easily led to thinking they have had profound metaphysical experiences after speaking with a complete skeptic who merely looks and sounds like he could provide them with a metaphysical experience -- and who is telling them he's an illusion the whole time. If that's immoral at all, it's far less immoral than what is done by the countless "actual" gurus who seriously present supernatural claims and use them as a way into people's checkbooks. A key to the success of this film is Gandhi's performance in his "role" -- giving Kumare an innocence through his reactions and style of movement that endears him to the disciples while they are convinced of his wisdom. Without that their striking reactions could not have been captured. And it is remarkable when he realizes that he can make deeper connections with people and enjoy life more when he is playing Kumare than when he is not. There is an attempt to show that despite the earthly nature of his teachings, the students' lives have actually improved after their instruction with Kumare/Vikram. I'm not certain how I feel about that, but it's not a scientific claim, and amounts to saying that an admittedly-fake guru can help people as much or more than a supposedly- real one, and that they most needed to be told that they didn't need a guru. And that's fair.This is a fascinating experiment and a worthwhile documentary.

In 2008 I saw a movie that completely changed the way I thought about Spiritual Enlightenment and Inner Happiness... That movie was called "The Love Guru".Mike Myers character of "Guru Maurice Pitka" was both thought provoking and entertaining, two defining traits which unfortunately Vikram Gandhi's character "Kumare" lacked. At some points in the movie I was so appalled by Vikrams acting that I wondered if he was so desperate for valuable minutes of screen time that he intentionally left in scenes where he clearly falls out of character. There are countless moments when his American accent comes through or a slight western-ism slips out, and considering this was edited down from (I'm assuming) hundreds of hours of footage I find it hard to believe they weren't completely aware of his character from the beginning. ... I know this doesn't change the overall basis of the movie, I just personally found it hard to sit through doubting that all the characters were believers. The whole thing looks and feels like an episode of "The Hills" complete with tacky poolside one-on-one confessionals and bad acting.The only reason I ended up sitting through this was for "THE REVEAL" which eventually (and keeping in theme with the movie) fell flat and lifeless. At least in "There's Something About Miriam" someone broke down crying.The idea behind this movie is brilliant, it just needed a different formula in order to reach it's full potential.I guess you might enjoy it if you're a mid-thirties Californian house wife desperately searching for some religious understanding in your life, yet unsure which spiritual path to take.