Reviews

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  ★★★★½ review by Andrew Magee on Letterboxd

  Lemon Haze plus this movie ❤️

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  ★★★½ review by bluesrgt on Letterboxd

  A collection of moments. Enter the life of buddhist monks. Feel the slow pace they choose to take.

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  ★★★★★ review by garunya on Letterboxd

  Walk With Me - Review.

  I was led to believe that Walk With Me was a documentary about the life of the venerable Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh. The film was not about that at all. It was a beautiful glimpse into the lives of many of those who follow his teachings (though he does also appear in the film himself quite a lot.)

  A lot of the beauty came in very simple things… people leading their lives, chanting, experiencing joy. But another thing I really loved was seeing the practitioners interacting with their previous lives. In some cases, that was them meeting up again with their parents years later, and being delighted at the pure love and joy the parents expressed. In one case it was their non-reaction to a Christian evangelist troll trying to rile them up (another bystander eventually stepped in and owned him in a very satisfying moment).

  The only think I think didn’t work was Benedict Cumberbatch. He was listed as the narrator, but actually, his voiceovers are all expressing sử ông (Thích)’s inner thoughts. I’m really not convinced the voice of Smaug was the best choice for that, and it took me right out of the film on several occasions. (even Frank Oz would have been preferable - and btw, Yoda does make an appearance!)

  But what it really comes down to is these Zen practitioners conducting their lives, and us witnessing it with beautiful cinematography and even more beautiful sound. It helped that the cinema we went to, Bitexco, has the best sound quality of any I’ve visited in Vietnam. Those bits were my favourite, and in many ways, reminded me of Baraka. Transcending the usual toils of life, and showing us something profound. I really appreciated this, and the ideas, images and sounds are going to be with me for a long, long time.

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  ★★★★ review by Sherman Ho on Letterboxd

  An important film in today’s world where we are so connected to our gadgets that we stop living in present. It’s difficult to describe the movie, but it takes you on a reflective journey about mindfulness. Although it’s a documentary set in a monastery, the film isn’t really about Buddhism - it is about a way of life. I loved especially a scene where you see an angry preacher preaching in the streets of New York cursing all that do not follow his religion, whilst contrasted with the monks reaction to simply sit peacefully. 

  Watched at GV Paya Lebar with Simon, Samuel, Adora, Shuchiang and Keng Kiat.
  
  Test screening for SFS.

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  ★★★★★ review by Austin on Letterboxd

  perfect and.. meditative?

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