Siddhartha (1972)
8/10
Like the river everything returns
19 April 2024
Siddhartha, a Brahmin's son, and his friend depart his father's house in search of a different life than the sedate environment of the home. His father (Amrik Singh) says that if he finds truth then return and tell him. And if he should find nothing to return anyway; as like the river, everything returns.

His path through the story, which takes place in no certain time or place, sort of parallels the Buddha's searching's but is not a fictionalized version. His friend finally chooses another path leaving Siddhartha to find his way alone. Siddhartha decides that enlightenment comes from within and cannot be taught. The Buddha admonishes Siddhartha not to be too clever.

His search takes him through several lives as he learns of love and money, and a few more experiences. He almost seems like a snot as he explains to a courtesan that he does not love. Recognizing that he has wasted his time searching, he comes to some interesting conclusions.

In this 1972 film by Conrad Rooks captures more of the original book than he intended. The film was not intended to be more than an adoption of the book as the director figured that his 25 years in India gave him a better insight than Hermann Hesse's (the book that the movie was based on) 11-month insight.

One of the profound items I picked up on was the speech about what "a rock" could be.
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