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7.6

♡ 17

David Grubin Director

Blair Brown as Herself - Narrator

D. Max Moerman as Himself - Professor, Barnard

Richard Gere as Narrator

D. Max Moerman as Self - Professor, Barnard

This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.

The Burning Buddha Man

2013

6.5

♡ 6

Ujicha Director

Yuka Iguchi as

Minori Terada as

Munemyôou Hozan as

Tomomi Nijii as

There is a series of Buddha statue thefts in Kyoto. Beniko, a high school girl, gets the Buddha statue at her family's temple stolen and has her parents killed at the same time. She needs to know what caused the death of a parents and dreams of revenge. She goes on a fantastical journey to ultimately face the demon. The entire film is produced by hand drawing all the gods 'manifesto animation' or 'gekimation' based on the amazing hand drawings.

The Last Conception

2020

5.4

♡ 2

100%

Gabriela Ledesma Director

Lovlee Carroll as Chitra Sikand

Marshall Manesh as Davidia Sikand

Veena Bidasha as Mira Sikand

Nazanin Mandi as Savarna Sikand

The Sikand family learns they are part of an ancient bloodline and the only hope at continuing it is their gay daughter Savarna.

Samsara

2001

Tibetan

7.7

♡ 9

100%

Pan Nalin Director

Lhakpa Tsering as Dawa / Local merchant

Christy Chung as Pema / Wife

Neelesha Barthel as Sujata / Migrant farm worker

Shawn Ku as Tashi / Husband

A love story situated in the Himalayas. A Buddhist monk can't choose between life and the way of the Buddha.

Kenji Miyazawa's Night on the Galactic Railroad

1985

7.0

♡ 10

Adventure

Animation

based on novel or book

Gisaburô Sugii Director

Chikao Ohtsuka as Birdcatcher

Gorô Naya as Dr. Bulganillo, Campanella's Father

Mayumi Tanaka as Giovanni

Shun Yashiro as (voice)

Giovanni currently lives a dreary life of near non-stop work. At school, his peers ridicule him incessantly, and his employer at work is distant and cold. As his isolation from society becomes unbearable, he suddenly finds himself on a train heading far away from his miserable home. Accompanied by Campanella, an acquaintance from school, Giovanni embarks on a journey that will define the rest of his life.

A Dog Barking at the Moon

2019

Chinese

6.3

♡ 2

100%

buddhism

Drama

dysfunctional marriage

Lisa Zi Xiang Director

Thomas Fiquet as Benjamin

Chen Zhenyuan as Feng Xi

Wu Renyuan as Huang Tao

Ming Xing as Liu Yuanyuan

Coming back to her broken family, pregnant writer Huang Xiaoyu and her French husband, Benjamin, finds herself trapped between her cult brainwashed mother, Li Jiumei, and her secretly homosexual father, Huang Tao.

Steppenwolf

1974

6.1

♡ 3

53%

Fred Haines Director

Max von Sydow as Harry Haller

Dominique Sanda as Hermine

Eduard Linkers as Mr. Hefte

Sunnyi Melles as Rosa

In the bourgeois circles of Europe after the Great War, can anything save the modern man? Harry Haller, a solitary intellectual, has all his life feared his dual nature of being human and being a beast. He's decided to die on his 50th birthday, which is soon. He's rescued from his solipsism by the mysterious Hermine, who takes him dancing, introduces him to jazz and to the beautiful and whimsical Maria, and guides him into the hallucinations of the Magic Theater, which seem to take him into Hell. Can humour, sin, and derision lead to salvation?

My Year of Living Mindfully

2020

7.1

♡ 2

Shannon Harvey Director

Craig Walker as Guy Waiting to see Psychologist

Dan Harris as Self

Richard Davidson as Self - Featured Expert

Matthieu Ricard as Self - Featured Expert

Shannon Harvey was working in her dream job as a radio news journalist when, at the age of 24 she was diagnosed with a devastating auto-immune disease. Determined to find a solution, she began researching cutting-edge mind-body medicine. Is it really possible, she wonders, that a simple practice that can be done anywhere, any time, by anyone, can ease suffering and promote physical and mental healing? Synthesizing the work of leading scientists with the ways of mystics, she undertakes a year-long experiment, with herself as the subject. Will meditation revolutionize her health and well-being, or is it just another over-hyped self-help fad? This compelling account of her journey provides fascinating insights about how to be well and happy in the modern world.

Wheel of Time

2003

German

7.1

♡ 6

94%

Werner Herzog Director

Werner Herzog as Self

Manfred Klell as Self

Ven. Geshe as Self

Madhureeta Anand as Self

Wheel of Time is Werner Herzog's photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.

Tina

2021

7.9

♡ 18

92%

Daniel Lindsay Director

B.B. King as Self

Whoopi Goldberg as Self

Mel Gibson as Self

Angela Bassett as Self

Tina Turner overcame impossible odds to become one of the first female Black artists to reach a mainstream international audience. Her road to superstardom is an undeniable story of triumph over adversity. It’s the ultimate story of survival – and an inspirational story of our times.

Murderous Trance

2018

5.4

♡ 15

husband wife relationship

based on a true story

buddhism

copenhagen, denmark

Drama

Arto Halonen Director

Pilou Asbæk as Anders Olsen

Josh Lucas as Bjørn Schouw Nielsen

Sara Soulié as Marie Olsen

Christopher Fulford as Thuesen

Copenhagen, Denmark, 1951. Criminal investigator Anders Olsen follows the case of a bank robber who eyewitnesses say appears to have been acting under some kind of trance.

The Scent of Green Papaya

1993

Vietnamese

7.3

♡ 24

100%

Anh Hung Tran Director

Xuan Thu Nguyen as L'antiquaire

Xuan Dung Phan as Musiciens

Xuan Loi Phan as Musiciens

Van Chung Le as Musiciens

A young Vietnamese peasant girl named Mui becomes the educated wife of a pianist in 1950s Saigon and learns the art of the piano too.

The Boxer's Omen

1983

Cn

7.0

♡ 13

Chih-Hung Kuei Director

Elvis Tsui as

Shao-Yen Lin as

Kar-Man Wai as Chan's girl

Bolo Yeung as Mr. Bu-bo - the Thai Boxer

After his brother was crippled in the ring by a cheating Thai boxer, Chan Hung goes to Thailand to avenge his brother, and finds the key to an omen which may release their family from an ancient curse. He is then caught up in a spiraling web of fate, Buddhist curses, and black magic.

This Transient Life

1970

7.6

♡ 11

Akio Jissôji Director

Eiji Okada as

Isao Sasaki as

Michiko Tsukasa as

Akiji Kobayashi as

Near a remote Buddhist monastery, a young man falls in love with his sister and gets her pregnant. After a monk finds out, the young man becomes an assistant to a master sculptor, only to proceed to complicate matters with his affairs.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

2003

Korean

8.0

♡ 46

94%

Ki-duk Kim Director

Ki-duk Kim as Adult Monk

Dae-han Ji as Detective Ji

Yeong-su Oh as Old Monk

Jeong-yeong Kim as The Girl's Mother

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

Walk With Me

2017

6.4

♡ 13

81%

Marc J. Francis Director

Benedict Cumberbatch as

Sister Dang Nghiêm as Herself

Thich Nhát Hanh as Himself

David Gair as Self

Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Walk With Me is a cinematic journey into the world of a monastic community who practice the art of mindfulness with Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Story of a Prostitute

1965

7.3

♡ 5

81%

Seijun Suzuki Director

Akira Takahashi as

Ken Mizoguchi as

Hiroshi Tachikawa as

Yumiko Nogawa as Harumi

Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front, where she is expected to service hundreds of soldiers, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute is a tragic love story as well as a rule-bending take on a popular Taijiro Tamura novel, challenging military and fraternal codes of honor, as seen through Harumi's eyes.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

2013

Chinese

6.7

♡ 19