This film is an exploration of several Tibetan Buddhist rituals, and centers around an initiation in India attended by hundreds of thousands of Himalayan devotees, many of whom arrive after punishing pilgrimages that, in one case, took up to three and a half years. As Cinema this film excels. Herzog places himself in the midst of the throng. The faces he captures tell a thousand stories. Yet the actual stories are few and far between. There is a cool detachment in this film that gives it an anthropological feel. Herzog admitted in a live discussion after the screening that he had little familiarization with Buddhism, and reluctantly took this assignment after several requests only after the Dalai Lama himself personally asked him to do it. There is little to be learned here about the ritual itself, as the film focuses mostly on the attendees. Herzog seems uninterested in the meaning behind the sometimes strange-seeming actions of the devoted monks, and focuses instead on observation. While this is a smart approach for a film-maker on one hand, since any attempt to explain this complicated philosophical system would undoubtably fall short, I was left wanting more. If I can make a somewhat strange metaphor: it was like seeing a documentary on the Superbowl, which focused on Americans traveling from all over the country, standing in long lines, paying large sums of money to get in, drinking beer, shouting and cheering at the field, or shouting at television screens, waving strange banners around, and possibly braving rain, snow or blizzard to see it--without ever really going into what football is. Long shots of haggard faces and people doing "the wave" would be compelling to watch, but wouldn't give a true picture of the event. If you're interested in seeing a fly-on-the-wall observation of a very interesting and different aspect of the human experience, this film succeeds. But if you are interested in understanding the Kalachakra ritual, or learning more about Buddhism, then, like me, you'll be left unsatisfied. Perhaps the film is mistitled. The title, "Wheel of Time", somehow promised something different to me. A more apt title would be something like, "Naked Devotion".
20 Reviews
Perfecting humanity
howard.schumann30 January 2006
In 2002 Werner Herzog went to India to observe the festival of Kalachakra, the ritual that takes place every few years to allow Tibetan Buddhist monks to become ordained. An estimated 500,000 Buddhists attended the initiation at Bodh Gaya, the land where the Buddha is believed to have gained enlightenment. The resulting documentary, Wheel of Time, is not a typical Herzog film about manic eccentrics at odds with nature but an often sublime look at an endangered culture whose very way of life is threatened. Herzog admits that he knows little about Buddhism and we do not learn very much about it in the film, yet as we observe the rituals, the celebrations, and the devotion of Tibetan Buddhists we learn much about the richness of their tradition and their strength as a people.
The festival, which lasts ten days, arose out of the desire to create a strong positive bond for inner peace among a large number of people. One notices the almost complete absence of women yet the film ignores it and the narrator makes no comment. The monks begin with chants, music, and mantra recitation to bless the site so that it will be conducive for creating the sand mandala. The magnificently beautiful mandala, which signifies the wheel of time, is carefully constructed at the start of the festival using fourteen different tints of colored sand, then dismantled at the end to dramatize the impermanence of all things. Once built, it is kept in a glass case for the duration of the proceedings so that it will not be disturbed. The most striking aspect of the film are the scenes showing the devotion of the participants.
Using two interpreters, Herzog interviews a monk who took three and one-half years to reach the festival while doing prostrations on the 3000-mile journey. The prostrations, which are similar to bowing and touching the ground, serve as a reminder that we cannot reach enlightenment without first dispelling arrogance and the affliction of pride. In this case, the monk has developed lesions on his hand and a wound on his forehead from touching the earth so many times, yet it hasn't dampened his spirit. Other Buddhists are shown trying to do 100,000 prostrations in six weeks in front of the tree under which the Buddha is supposed to have sat. Herzog introduces a moment of humor when he films a young child imitating the adults by doing his own prostrations but not quite getting the hang of it. In a sequence of rare beauty accompanied by transcendent Tibetan music, we see a Buddhist pilgrimage to worship at the foot of 22,000-foot Mount Kailash, a mountain that is considered in Buddhist and Hindu tradition to be the center of the universe.
The Dalai Lama explains wryly, however, that in reality each of us is truly the center of the universe. After waiting in long lines to witness the Dalai Lama conduct the main ceremony, the crowd is shocked into silence when he tells them that he is too ill to conduct the initiation and will have to wait until the next Kalachakra meeting in Graz, Austria in October. The Graz initiation ceremony is much smaller, however, being confined to a convention hall that can only fit 8000 people; however, everyone is grateful to see the Dalai Lama restored to health. In Austria, Herzog interviews a Tibetan monk who has just been released from a Chinese prison after serving a sentence of thirty-seven years for campaigning for a "Free Tibet". His ecstasy in greeting the Dalai Lama is ineffable. During the closing ceremony, the monks dismantle the Mandala, sweeping up the colored sands and the Dalai Lama releases the mixed sand to the river as a means of extending blessings to the world for peace and healing.
Herzog's mellifluous voice lends a measure of serenity to the proceedings and he seems to be a sympathetic observer. While he makes every effort not to be intrusive, he cannot resist staging a scene toward the end of the film in which a bodyguard is seen presiding over an almost empty convention hall to illustrate the Buddhist concept of emptiness. Wheel of Time may not be Herzog's best work but it does contain moments of grace and images of spectacular beauty. Because of the destruction of their heritage, the Tibetans survive today mainly in the refugee camps of India. Any effort that promotes an understanding of their culture is very welcome and Wheel of Time provides us with an insight into an ancient tradition geared toward perfecting humanity through quieting the mind and cultivating compassion.
The festival, which lasts ten days, arose out of the desire to create a strong positive bond for inner peace among a large number of people. One notices the almost complete absence of women yet the film ignores it and the narrator makes no comment. The monks begin with chants, music, and mantra recitation to bless the site so that it will be conducive for creating the sand mandala. The magnificently beautiful mandala, which signifies the wheel of time, is carefully constructed at the start of the festival using fourteen different tints of colored sand, then dismantled at the end to dramatize the impermanence of all things. Once built, it is kept in a glass case for the duration of the proceedings so that it will not be disturbed. The most striking aspect of the film are the scenes showing the devotion of the participants.
Using two interpreters, Herzog interviews a monk who took three and one-half years to reach the festival while doing prostrations on the 3000-mile journey. The prostrations, which are similar to bowing and touching the ground, serve as a reminder that we cannot reach enlightenment without first dispelling arrogance and the affliction of pride. In this case, the monk has developed lesions on his hand and a wound on his forehead from touching the earth so many times, yet it hasn't dampened his spirit. Other Buddhists are shown trying to do 100,000 prostrations in six weeks in front of the tree under which the Buddha is supposed to have sat. Herzog introduces a moment of humor when he films a young child imitating the adults by doing his own prostrations but not quite getting the hang of it. In a sequence of rare beauty accompanied by transcendent Tibetan music, we see a Buddhist pilgrimage to worship at the foot of 22,000-foot Mount Kailash, a mountain that is considered in Buddhist and Hindu tradition to be the center of the universe.
The Dalai Lama explains wryly, however, that in reality each of us is truly the center of the universe. After waiting in long lines to witness the Dalai Lama conduct the main ceremony, the crowd is shocked into silence when he tells them that he is too ill to conduct the initiation and will have to wait until the next Kalachakra meeting in Graz, Austria in October. The Graz initiation ceremony is much smaller, however, being confined to a convention hall that can only fit 8000 people; however, everyone is grateful to see the Dalai Lama restored to health. In Austria, Herzog interviews a Tibetan monk who has just been released from a Chinese prison after serving a sentence of thirty-seven years for campaigning for a "Free Tibet". His ecstasy in greeting the Dalai Lama is ineffable. During the closing ceremony, the monks dismantle the Mandala, sweeping up the colored sands and the Dalai Lama releases the mixed sand to the river as a means of extending blessings to the world for peace and healing.
Herzog's mellifluous voice lends a measure of serenity to the proceedings and he seems to be a sympathetic observer. While he makes every effort not to be intrusive, he cannot resist staging a scene toward the end of the film in which a bodyguard is seen presiding over an almost empty convention hall to illustrate the Buddhist concept of emptiness. Wheel of Time may not be Herzog's best work but it does contain moments of grace and images of spectacular beauty. Because of the destruction of their heritage, the Tibetans survive today mainly in the refugee camps of India. Any effort that promotes an understanding of their culture is very welcome and Wheel of Time provides us with an insight into an ancient tradition geared toward perfecting humanity through quieting the mind and cultivating compassion.
Werner Herzog does a walk around
SnoopyStyle9 August 2013
It's interesting to read that Werner Herzog wasn't an expert on Buddhism when he filmed this. In a way, that's the charm of this film. Essentially we're given a backstage pass to a Buddhist festival. In Herzog fashion, he holds the camera longer than most, filming his subjects looking for any reaction. In a childlike way, it could be very compelling. Especially since this world is so strange to most westerners that the audience is like any tourists in a strange land. We stare a little too long.
My only complaint is he ended the movie in the wrong place. Just because The Dalai Lama couldn't finish the rituals doesn't mean the movie needs to go to another continent to find a happy ending.
My only complaint is he ended the movie in the wrong place. Just because The Dalai Lama couldn't finish the rituals doesn't mean the movie needs to go to another continent to find a happy ending.
Excellent Herzog fare; surreal, stylistic, yet real
fearless_green27 April 2003
I just saw Wheel of Time yesterday at its premiere in Toronto, where Herzog was present. As usual, Herzog creates a compelling film: a portrait of a traditional Bhuddist initiation ceremony. Specifically, we are shown the pilgrimmage of hundreds of thousands of people to India and one year later, to a similar ceremony in Austria. On a purely documentary level, this winning film is a fascinating piece, giving insight into this ancient ceremony (including the pilgrimmage itself), as well as showing us the painstaking construction of a large "mandala" made out of colored sand, with a "wheel of time" intricately designed in its center. The interviews with the Dalai Lama were interesting and even humorous. On an artistic level, it is also a winner, as Herzog mixes stylistic poses and environmental landscapes within the structure of the documentary. Of course, Herzog's critics call this self-indulgence, but I strongly disagree. Herzog operates on a subconcious level in most of his films, including his narrative features, and actually succeeds where other "artsy" filmmakers fail miserably. Herzog has produced yet another fascinating masterpiece.
Herzog showing a culture, in mass, in inner-peace, led by the guy to know most
Quinoa198430 March 2007
Wheel of Time is a curious documentary crucially because of someone from the West, like myself, being privy to traditional customs and ceremonial practices that seem like they could be coming from another world. But, as one soon learns, this curiosity is strong because it IS apart of this world, and maybe the truest moment of clarity from the Dalai Lama himself comes when he states how the universe is really not owned by one country or apart of one mountain or other, but is in how an individual conceives it- the universe, the center of it, is in you, or at least your projection of what it is, which is not something collective but ultimately is. It's a very wise statement that will keep me pondering it over for a long time. Likewise, the Kalachakra mandala becomes like a metaphor for this ideal, of hundreds of thousands of people coming together for the purpose of- aside from getting priceless words from the Dalai Lama- being at inner peace with oneself, hence the universe.
By the end of Wheel of Time I didn't know much more about Buddhism than I had going into it, which isn't any real fault on Herzog's end as a filmmaker; it doesn't illuminate and challenge the mind too much like other documentaries of the filmmaker, but it's also nevertheless unique in Herzog's cannon for what he does and doesn't take on with his subject(s). On the one hand, he's endlessly fascinated with ritual, with physical movements, of the masses of people who have gone on this pilgrimage from thousands of miles from all over the continent for this once-in-two-years event (this adds a dosage of climactic irony for what happens there- an 'illness'). It's anthropological to an extent, only it's not one of everyday culture so much as the unheeding devotion to a religion based around enlightenment, not suffering via a messiah or other. On the other hand, Herzog relies this time on just being a guy with a camera, moving around these swarms of people, and this time Herzog relents for the most part to "directing landscapes" as he usually does to just catching people's faces, their body language, and the instruments at their disposal (which are, usually, their own bodies, as in their bowing-type moves to attain a level, and crawling on ones hands and face across land for a purpose). It's actually, for Herzog, kind of conventional, bordering on being something one might expect for television.
But this little note shouldn't discourage one from seeing the film, and whether you're a Buddhist or not it holds its own aura that provides moments almost akin to what the Dalai Lama wants for his pupils and followers. One's even reminded of Woodstock in comparison of a documentary that goes out of its way to show more-so the nature of the people who gather together, and the power of a gathering, than the actual acts themselves. On top of this, Herzog does the occasional focus on an individual (albeit a little sidetracked as it is during the climax) with a political prisoner released from China and allowed to finally "see" the Dalai Lama in person. And for Herzog fans who are always on the prowl for his 'adequate images', there's still a good few to go around here, like when he captures the mountains that the Tibetans go to in masses, or the final images, including one that is as haunting as anything Herzog's shot. It's a peaceful, brisk journey; not a great work, but not an insignificant one either.
By the end of Wheel of Time I didn't know much more about Buddhism than I had going into it, which isn't any real fault on Herzog's end as a filmmaker; it doesn't illuminate and challenge the mind too much like other documentaries of the filmmaker, but it's also nevertheless unique in Herzog's cannon for what he does and doesn't take on with his subject(s). On the one hand, he's endlessly fascinated with ritual, with physical movements, of the masses of people who have gone on this pilgrimage from thousands of miles from all over the continent for this once-in-two-years event (this adds a dosage of climactic irony for what happens there- an 'illness'). It's anthropological to an extent, only it's not one of everyday culture so much as the unheeding devotion to a religion based around enlightenment, not suffering via a messiah or other. On the other hand, Herzog relies this time on just being a guy with a camera, moving around these swarms of people, and this time Herzog relents for the most part to "directing landscapes" as he usually does to just catching people's faces, their body language, and the instruments at their disposal (which are, usually, their own bodies, as in their bowing-type moves to attain a level, and crawling on ones hands and face across land for a purpose). It's actually, for Herzog, kind of conventional, bordering on being something one might expect for television.
But this little note shouldn't discourage one from seeing the film, and whether you're a Buddhist or not it holds its own aura that provides moments almost akin to what the Dalai Lama wants for his pupils and followers. One's even reminded of Woodstock in comparison of a documentary that goes out of its way to show more-so the nature of the people who gather together, and the power of a gathering, than the actual acts themselves. On top of this, Herzog does the occasional focus on an individual (albeit a little sidetracked as it is during the climax) with a political prisoner released from China and allowed to finally "see" the Dalai Lama in person. And for Herzog fans who are always on the prowl for his 'adequate images', there's still a good few to go around here, like when he captures the mountains that the Tibetans go to in masses, or the final images, including one that is as haunting as anything Herzog's shot. It's a peaceful, brisk journey; not a great work, but not an insignificant one either.
A good document/meditation on twin Buddhist ceremonies
dbborroughs6 January 2006
This is the story of the Buddhist initiation ceremonies held in 2002 in India and in Austria during which elaborate sand mandalas (the Wheel of Time of the title) were created. In India we see how half a million pilgrims come from what ever means was at their disposal to come and see the Dalai Lama and be blessed, while in Austria a few thousand people attended the ceremonies.
Difficult to adequately explain fully, the film, part document of the events, part meditation on them and on larger ideas. It is a film that beautifully shows how one religion can transcend place and time. It attempts to show us the length to which the pilgrims will go in order to travel down the path to enlightenment. Since this is a trip that is only really traveled deep inside oneself Werner Herzog keeps his camera ever moving over the landscape of the people who are trying to find nirvana. We are forever looking at the faces of those deep in prayer and meditation as if we might be able to find some clue as to what is going on deep with in each persons soul. It becomes a mediation on meditation.
For the most part this film works wonderfully. It manages to give some clue into the very nature of what the ceremonies are all about. We are also drawn into a contemplative and meditative state that seems akin or to approximate those of some of the pilgrims. While certainly not the real thing it is enough to give one a feel for deep thought.
I do have one problem with the film, and its a minor one, in the central section the film seems to wander about too much with some of the pilgrims. Its a personal thing but I was not as enthralled with the journey to the sacred mountain, and I did get a bit tired of prostrating monks. Its a minor thing, but it decreased my enjoyment of the film ever so slightly.
Still this is good film that is a must see for anyone who is interested in Buddhism or the varieties of religious experience. For those who want to see a slice of life thats not in their neighborhood, I also recommend it. 7 out of 10 because the reaction to it will as varied as the audience.
Difficult to adequately explain fully, the film, part document of the events, part meditation on them and on larger ideas. It is a film that beautifully shows how one religion can transcend place and time. It attempts to show us the length to which the pilgrims will go in order to travel down the path to enlightenment. Since this is a trip that is only really traveled deep inside oneself Werner Herzog keeps his camera ever moving over the landscape of the people who are trying to find nirvana. We are forever looking at the faces of those deep in prayer and meditation as if we might be able to find some clue as to what is going on deep with in each persons soul. It becomes a mediation on meditation.
For the most part this film works wonderfully. It manages to give some clue into the very nature of what the ceremonies are all about. We are also drawn into a contemplative and meditative state that seems akin or to approximate those of some of the pilgrims. While certainly not the real thing it is enough to give one a feel for deep thought.
I do have one problem with the film, and its a minor one, in the central section the film seems to wander about too much with some of the pilgrims. Its a personal thing but I was not as enthralled with the journey to the sacred mountain, and I did get a bit tired of prostrating monks. Its a minor thing, but it decreased my enjoyment of the film ever so slightly.
Still this is good film that is a must see for anyone who is interested in Buddhism or the varieties of religious experience. For those who want to see a slice of life thats not in their neighborhood, I also recommend it. 7 out of 10 because the reaction to it will as varied as the audience.
Each of us is truly the center of the universe
ranjeet-jha-vv6 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
"Each of us is truly the center of the universe"
This is what is said by Dalia Lama, when he is asked about Mount Kailash, a mountain that is considered to be in the center of universe as per Buddhist & Hindu tradition.
Wheel of time is a film which portrait traditional Buddhists initiation ceremony. Hundred thousand of pilgrimage gathers at Bodh-Gaya & Mount Kailash in India and also somewhere in Austria to perform spiritual duties. Herzog successfully portrays the insights of these individuals. Director depicted the insight of their faiths by interviewing them or just by using hollow background scores with penetrating camera angles.
Herzog have his own surreal way of shooting landscapes, however don't expect much if you are a hard core Herzogian, but it is recommended.
This is what is said by Dalia Lama, when he is asked about Mount Kailash, a mountain that is considered to be in the center of universe as per Buddhist & Hindu tradition.
Wheel of time is a film which portrait traditional Buddhists initiation ceremony. Hundred thousand of pilgrimage gathers at Bodh-Gaya & Mount Kailash in India and also somewhere in Austria to perform spiritual duties. Herzog successfully portrays the insights of these individuals. Director depicted the insight of their faiths by interviewing them or just by using hollow background scores with penetrating camera angles.
Herzog have his own surreal way of shooting landscapes, however don't expect much if you are a hard core Herzogian, but it is recommended.
An absorbing portrait of a rich culture
I_Ailurophile13 August 2022
No matter the level of one's earnest curiosity, there are some things that are difficult for outsiders to grasp with anything more than a surface level of comprehension. The Dalai Lama himself may give an explanation off the titular object, but to what extent can non-Buddhists truly appreciate its meaning? To what extent beyond basic admiration can we fathom the profound devotion of those who travel so far, sometimes for years with very precise methods, to attend a momentous occasion, or who spend so much time and energy solely on their faith? No matter how deeply a documentary may explore a topic, sometimes we can never hope to gain anything more by watching than a rudimentary academic expansion of our knowledge. So it is, I feel, with 'Wheel of time.' Werner Herzog is known for nothing if not his keen eye and shrewd intelligence, detached and dispassionate as a filmmaker yet nevertheless ever in awe of the vast spectrum humanity represents, good or ill. Here he turns his attention toward a cinematic testimony of a setting, an event, and those who facilitate and celebrate it, and in so doing gives us a small glimpse of the rich, ancient, enduring way of life embodied in Buddhism. And it's plainly fascinating.
Unless one specifically and directly shares in one fashion or another in what 'Wheel of time' shows us, I don't know that it's possible to fully, totally understand the import of the imagery laid before us. This does not mean, however, that the viewer can't cherish this remarkable culture. Herzog's camera is a gift, and so is everything he shows us: the vast, gorgeous landscapes; the vibrant dress and customs; the unbelievably meticulous construction of the mandala; the pure, wholehearted commitment and dedication of the faithful. Simply put, this is a portrait of a people that most viewers are unlikely to ever know in any other capacity, and on that basis alone this is essential. Then take into account still other aspects, such as Herzog's serene, controlled narration, providing ample context for all that he shows us; scattered kernels of undeniable wisdom provided by some of those with whom Herzog speaks in passing; and Joe Bini's tight editing and sequencing, not least of all as footage of the progression of the festival is carefully interspersed with footage of the continuing craft of the mandala. Furthermore, though only representing a small portion of the length, the interview with Takna Jigme Sangpo is genuinely gratifying, and the sparing ruminations Herzog provides towards the end are amusing food for thought.
The result is a picture that in its fundamental framework does nothing more to inform viewers, "here are your brothers and sisters across the world." That is all 'Wheel of time' needs to do and be, though, to be quietly enchanting and very worthwhile. If anything, one may reasonably argue that the scope of the movie is too broad; one may wish, for example, that we were told in more detail what every small facet of the sand mandala actually represents, nevermind other elements depicted throughout these 80 minutes. Yet Herzog's intent with this title is clear, and in that intent, it is wonderfully successful. As is true for most documentaries, anyone who isn't receptive to such non-fiction won't find anything here to change their minds; this is the type of film for those who are curious and ready and willing to learn. For all that, 'Wheel of time' is fantastic, an elegant portrayal of a sample of the great diversity that characterizes human civilization. If you're the sort of person who can get on board with such a picture, then this is all but a must-see.
Unless one specifically and directly shares in one fashion or another in what 'Wheel of time' shows us, I don't know that it's possible to fully, totally understand the import of the imagery laid before us. This does not mean, however, that the viewer can't cherish this remarkable culture. Herzog's camera is a gift, and so is everything he shows us: the vast, gorgeous landscapes; the vibrant dress and customs; the unbelievably meticulous construction of the mandala; the pure, wholehearted commitment and dedication of the faithful. Simply put, this is a portrait of a people that most viewers are unlikely to ever know in any other capacity, and on that basis alone this is essential. Then take into account still other aspects, such as Herzog's serene, controlled narration, providing ample context for all that he shows us; scattered kernels of undeniable wisdom provided by some of those with whom Herzog speaks in passing; and Joe Bini's tight editing and sequencing, not least of all as footage of the progression of the festival is carefully interspersed with footage of the continuing craft of the mandala. Furthermore, though only representing a small portion of the length, the interview with Takna Jigme Sangpo is genuinely gratifying, and the sparing ruminations Herzog provides towards the end are amusing food for thought.
The result is a picture that in its fundamental framework does nothing more to inform viewers, "here are your brothers and sisters across the world." That is all 'Wheel of time' needs to do and be, though, to be quietly enchanting and very worthwhile. If anything, one may reasonably argue that the scope of the movie is too broad; one may wish, for example, that we were told in more detail what every small facet of the sand mandala actually represents, nevermind other elements depicted throughout these 80 minutes. Yet Herzog's intent with this title is clear, and in that intent, it is wonderfully successful. As is true for most documentaries, anyone who isn't receptive to such non-fiction won't find anything here to change their minds; this is the type of film for those who are curious and ready and willing to learn. For all that, 'Wheel of time' is fantastic, an elegant portrayal of a sample of the great diversity that characterizes human civilization. If you're the sort of person who can get on board with such a picture, then this is all but a must-see.
How much you enjoy it is really dependent on you.
planktonrules3 February 2012
Famed German filmmaker Werner Herzog and his crew travel to a Buddhist pilgrimage site in Bodgaya, India. There they film the believers as they do the many tasks that they feel lead to greater enlightenment. The film's title is about a sand drawing or a 'mandala' that is created for this event.
While my summary is pretty much true of all films, it's especially true of "Wheel of Time". If you have no interest in Buddhism or don't like documentaries that are light on narration and thorough explanations, then you'll probably not enjoy this film. This isn't meant pejoratively--it's just that your interests will really have a lot to do with whether I'd recommend it to you. As a retired history teacher who often taught about world religions, I already had a reasonable understanding of many of the tenants of Buddhism as well as an interest in learning more. But I am NOT the typical person. And, I don't mind the vagueness in the narrative of this film very much--though I would have appreciated it if the film had talked about the basic beliefs of the religion. In other words, before attempting a discussion of the confusion topic of 'mandalas' (something which, it appeared, even the Dalai Lama had a hard time explaining in the film), perhaps it would have been best to discuss other aspects of the religion.
Things of interest to watch for would include the vat of tea (that's a lotta tea!), the great lengths to which some of the followers go to get there, the anticlimactic aspects of the pilgrimage and the later visit to Graz, Austria. Not for all tastes, but worth seeing if it is yours.
While my summary is pretty much true of all films, it's especially true of "Wheel of Time". If you have no interest in Buddhism or don't like documentaries that are light on narration and thorough explanations, then you'll probably not enjoy this film. This isn't meant pejoratively--it's just that your interests will really have a lot to do with whether I'd recommend it to you. As a retired history teacher who often taught about world religions, I already had a reasonable understanding of many of the tenants of Buddhism as well as an interest in learning more. But I am NOT the typical person. And, I don't mind the vagueness in the narrative of this film very much--though I would have appreciated it if the film had talked about the basic beliefs of the religion. In other words, before attempting a discussion of the confusion topic of 'mandalas' (something which, it appeared, even the Dalai Lama had a hard time explaining in the film), perhaps it would have been best to discuss other aspects of the religion.
Things of interest to watch for would include the vat of tea (that's a lotta tea!), the great lengths to which some of the followers go to get there, the anticlimactic aspects of the pilgrimage and the later visit to Graz, Austria. Not for all tastes, but worth seeing if it is yours.
One of the great documentaries on the subject of religion.
MOscarbradley23 July 2020
Werner Herzog's documentaries aren't like the documentaries of anyone else. Perhaps the best documentaries are unique to the people who make them. You can tell a Flaherty from a Wiseman just as you can tell a Maysles Brothers from a Herzog. Werner is interested in extremes, if only the extremes in subject matter. He will go out of his way to show us places and things other film-makers often ignore. "Wheel of Time" is his film about a place and an event not usually seen here in the West.
Its subject is a Buddhist initiation rite performed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and attended by over half a million pilgrims. It's a ceremony of such complexity that Herzog's capturing of it is something of a miracle in itself and, of course, it is a thing of consumate beauty. This is what religion should be but very seldom is and Herzog is a masterful observer. He also narrates the film, informing us about what is happening when we need to know but most of the time simply showing us events as they unfold. Wonderful cinema and one of Herzog's best films.
Its subject is a Buddhist initiation rite performed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and attended by over half a million pilgrims. It's a ceremony of such complexity that Herzog's capturing of it is something of a miracle in itself and, of course, it is a thing of consumate beauty. This is what religion should be but very seldom is and Herzog is a masterful observer. He also narrates the film, informing us about what is happening when we need to know but most of the time simply showing us events as they unfold. Wonderful cinema and one of Herzog's best films.
Solid
Cosmoeticadotcom21 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
What is it about middle aged white mean and their sudden love of Orientalism (or jazz, for that matter)? Is it a midlife crisis? This thought came to me watching Werner Herzog's 2003 documentary Wheel Of Time. The best thing I can say of the film is that it would make for a solid PBS film by a typical documentary director, but coming from a master of cinema, like Herzog, it's a profound disappointment. Why? There simply is nothing more to this film than Herzog filming the mundane goings on at a trio of Buddhist festivals in 2002, and acting as if peasants trekking about a mountain (Mount Kailash in Tibet), monks painting mandalas with colored sand, and white Austrians rapt with Orientalism, were supposed to lend some deep insight into the cosmic goings on. At least, that is what can be taken from Herzog's narration of the film.
Too often the film is hermetic; its rituals are regarded, but no explanation is proffered, not from an anthropological nor narrative perspective. The acts of prostration, as example, become mere sideshow carny acts to the watcher of this film, and never impart any sense of admiration for the devotees, because they are unreal, in many ways, never fully part of the vital reality of the film. Similarly, we see children in monk robes, yet Herzog never queries how such children really feel about being drafted into their family's business, something I once asked a young Buddhist monk. All in all, Wheel Of Time is a solid film, fairly straight forward, and nothing remotely approaching his earlier, greater films. Perhaps the most telling thing is that Werner Herzog made a merely solid film; that's how damned good a film craftsman he is. No, I'm wrong; even worse than making a solid film is the fact that the faux reverential Herzog mad a non-Herzogian film. Let's just hope Herzog is never smitten with John Coltrane nor Charlie Parker. That would not be merely solid, but brutally painful. Goodbye, Dalai!
Too often the film is hermetic; its rituals are regarded, but no explanation is proffered, not from an anthropological nor narrative perspective. The acts of prostration, as example, become mere sideshow carny acts to the watcher of this film, and never impart any sense of admiration for the devotees, because they are unreal, in many ways, never fully part of the vital reality of the film. Similarly, we see children in monk robes, yet Herzog never queries how such children really feel about being drafted into their family's business, something I once asked a young Buddhist monk. All in all, Wheel Of Time is a solid film, fairly straight forward, and nothing remotely approaching his earlier, greater films. Perhaps the most telling thing is that Werner Herzog made a merely solid film; that's how damned good a film craftsman he is. No, I'm wrong; even worse than making a solid film is the fact that the faux reverential Herzog mad a non-Herzogian film. Let's just hope Herzog is never smitten with John Coltrane nor Charlie Parker. That would not be merely solid, but brutally painful. Goodbye, Dalai!
I felt like I was there
sinta-9370227 February 2021
Herzog on religion
Horst_In_Translation18 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Wheel of Time" is an almost 15-year-old, German movie by writer and director Werner Herzog and it was a bit of a return back to his roots as documentaries were how it all started for him several decades ago. This documentary only runs for 80 minutes, but still delivers in terms of content and atmosphere. I have little interest in religion whatsoever, so I was not sure how much I would like it, but even if it did not do too much on an informative level, I still managed to suck in the atmospherically soothing touch of this film during several scenes. And it was sure fun to see Herzog interview the Dalai Lama, how humble both of them seemed and respectful towards the other and the general situation. I cannot deny I am a great Werner Herzog fan and it is always nice to see him narrate his films himself just like this one. His voice is always great to listen to. As a whole, this was not one of my favorite watches from Herzog, but that is really only because I have seen so much from him and because some of his other works are so great and this one is "only" good. I still recommend watching it. Thumbs for "Rad der Zeit". Go see it.
It would be great if Herzog hadn't made it
brokengambler5 April 2006
There is something about the subject of this documentary which outweighs the documentary itself. The public spectacle of people gathering for this ceremony, the interaction between the participants, the life of all these people are very wonderful things (as all lives are, but their taking part in a Buddhist ceremony brings this out)
There was this highly revealing moment in the film though where it was mentioned that the Dalai Lama does not feel people should convert from the religion of their home culture, but despite that fact he was going to Austria to do the ceremony for a group of Austrian Buddhists. Within that statement you get the whole dilemma of a spiritual/political leader, who is forced by political situations to sell himself to Westerners who think of his and his people's lifestyle as either quaint or mysterious, not just a lived lifestyle, that people are content and happy living without thinking themselves quaint or mysterious.
If you doubt that the west has these preconceived notions about Tibet, this movie should be a good lesson. Herzog dubs segments with "world music" that seems to have been recorded in Hollywood, he makes clichéd pseudo "mysterious" statements, and continually accentuates "the difference from Westerners." One has a feeling that this is an anthropological film on a dying people, as opposed to a documentary about a living one... and I think the Tibetans deserve better than that.
If this film was made by someone who just wanted to show how this ceremony was done, and how the people at the ceremony interact with it, then it would have been truly great. Herzog's voice over track just leaves you feeling sick.
There was this highly revealing moment in the film though where it was mentioned that the Dalai Lama does not feel people should convert from the religion of their home culture, but despite that fact he was going to Austria to do the ceremony for a group of Austrian Buddhists. Within that statement you get the whole dilemma of a spiritual/political leader, who is forced by political situations to sell himself to Westerners who think of his and his people's lifestyle as either quaint or mysterious, not just a lived lifestyle, that people are content and happy living without thinking themselves quaint or mysterious.
If you doubt that the west has these preconceived notions about Tibet, this movie should be a good lesson. Herzog dubs segments with "world music" that seems to have been recorded in Hollywood, he makes clichéd pseudo "mysterious" statements, and continually accentuates "the difference from Westerners." One has a feeling that this is an anthropological film on a dying people, as opposed to a documentary about a living one... and I think the Tibetans deserve better than that.
If this film was made by someone who just wanted to show how this ceremony was done, and how the people at the ceremony interact with it, then it would have been truly great. Herzog's voice over track just leaves you feeling sick.
Grand Tertön
tedg9 November 2010
Werner Herzog again.
This time he is in his mode of creation more by discovery than invention, and it pays off.
The raw material is striking by itself: vast numbers, ephemeral yearnings, trivial and essential rituals. Devotion in any endeavor is something we are drawn to, and there is plenty for our filmmaker to harvest.
The essential part of this film is Herzog as camera during a gathering in India, where a variety of consecrations are planned. Monks and devotees come, some by difficult and humbling means. 400,000 faces (all attempting calmness) are miraculously organized, assembled to be led by the supreme priest.
We see queues so orderly they could only exist among such beings, but anxious chaos when fighting for tossed goodies: dumplings and candies. We have zealots, order and peace.
Into this sails Herzog. The story is that he had been cajoled into filming the much smaller gathering in Austria. Austria! He was reluctant to do so, and after the film remains firm in his belief that Austrian Buddhists don't make much sense to him. But with this commitment, he traveled to the gathering in a sacred place in India near Nepal.
There he found a focus for his film in one of the rituals. Though it is presented as central to the gathering, it is only so in Herzog's vision. This holds that mysteries can be conveyed visually. The situation needs to support the vision, but the vision is the thing. It is not the symbol, the notation, the token, but the real thing. This is how he thinks of cinema and the way he presents the sand mandala carries this import.
The "Wheel of Time" is one translation of a sand painting made for this type of gathering, as perfected and maintained by one of the groups in Tibet. Mandalas are movies and intended for meditation, as a structure existing between and shared by the mind of insight and the real world of color and structure. There is much to be said of them and cinema, but Herzog only could film this one (and its copy in Austria) as it is being made with colored sand and exhibited as devotees are rushed past it.
He then went to Mount Kailash, Though this is a couple hundred miles away, he merges it seamlessly into the gathering of nearly half a million robed prayers. Here, he is able to make some magnificent images of the mountain, its waterways and the people ritualistically circumnavigating it. This is holiness he understands and the conflation of mountain and mandala works.
As usual, the music adds great power. I believe that henceforth, I will associate that music with this devotion, though there is no relation other than Herzog chose to build his mandala of these sounds, this extract of natural rock and water, and these people. They would not recognize their devotions as shown here. (And some of this is staged.) But for me, it is a window into something more holy than they worship.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
This time he is in his mode of creation more by discovery than invention, and it pays off.
The raw material is striking by itself: vast numbers, ephemeral yearnings, trivial and essential rituals. Devotion in any endeavor is something we are drawn to, and there is plenty for our filmmaker to harvest.
The essential part of this film is Herzog as camera during a gathering in India, where a variety of consecrations are planned. Monks and devotees come, some by difficult and humbling means. 400,000 faces (all attempting calmness) are miraculously organized, assembled to be led by the supreme priest.
We see queues so orderly they could only exist among such beings, but anxious chaos when fighting for tossed goodies: dumplings and candies. We have zealots, order and peace.
Into this sails Herzog. The story is that he had been cajoled into filming the much smaller gathering in Austria. Austria! He was reluctant to do so, and after the film remains firm in his belief that Austrian Buddhists don't make much sense to him. But with this commitment, he traveled to the gathering in a sacred place in India near Nepal.
There he found a focus for his film in one of the rituals. Though it is presented as central to the gathering, it is only so in Herzog's vision. This holds that mysteries can be conveyed visually. The situation needs to support the vision, but the vision is the thing. It is not the symbol, the notation, the token, but the real thing. This is how he thinks of cinema and the way he presents the sand mandala carries this import.
The "Wheel of Time" is one translation of a sand painting made for this type of gathering, as perfected and maintained by one of the groups in Tibet. Mandalas are movies and intended for meditation, as a structure existing between and shared by the mind of insight and the real world of color and structure. There is much to be said of them and cinema, but Herzog only could film this one (and its copy in Austria) as it is being made with colored sand and exhibited as devotees are rushed past it.
He then went to Mount Kailash, Though this is a couple hundred miles away, he merges it seamlessly into the gathering of nearly half a million robed prayers. Here, he is able to make some magnificent images of the mountain, its waterways and the people ritualistically circumnavigating it. This is holiness he understands and the conflation of mountain and mandala works.
As usual, the music adds great power. I believe that henceforth, I will associate that music with this devotion, though there is no relation other than Herzog chose to build his mandala of these sounds, this extract of natural rock and water, and these people. They would not recognize their devotions as shown here. (And some of this is staged.) But for me, it is a window into something more holy than they worship.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
Boring/disturbing subject. Whatdya expect?
jwegraham19 December 2007
Sure... Buddhism is hip... Sure the Western world has at times fixated on Buddhism in contrast to the violent tendencies of our Abrahamic religions... But let's be honest: Buddhism is boring! Oh, but the thought-provoking Buddhist quips!--as the Dalai Lama says in the film: the center of the universe is within each of us because our consciousness is the source of the idea of universe... now that truly is good stuff! But wait... what's this outside?!? Yes the camera pans through crowds of ascetics and poor people; people mystified by ritual, and desperately trying either to give meaning to or take meaning out of life. In blatant defiance to the tenderizing wisdom of Buddhist teachings stands the masses of followers that are clearly, disturbingly, mindlessly ritualized. No no no, not mindless in the good way, the "Buddhist" way. Mindless in the "I follow a religion way". Those in the West know this behavior very well...
So there is no "real" Buddhism. THERE IS NO EXCITING BUDDHISM. There is only the Buddhist RELIGION. This film is in large part about the Buddhist religion...
And Werner is the perfect director for such a task: stubborn and self-indulgent; brashly unapologetic about the "right to film-making". THIS is the inspiration for a camera that walks through a mass of people, then slowly fixates on one monk, and then with patience and audacity, sits there 6 inches from his face for 30 seconds! THIS is the background for Werner's classic comment after being told he is the center of the universe: "That feels good hearing that!--I shouldn't tell my wife..." This is as good as Buddhism gets! And all in all, if you can still tolerate the mind-numbing reality of Buddhism, then this film may be alright. Me? I'm waiting for Werner's next documentary: "A Day At Wal-Mart".
So there is no "real" Buddhism. THERE IS NO EXCITING BUDDHISM. There is only the Buddhist RELIGION. This film is in large part about the Buddhist religion...
And Werner is the perfect director for such a task: stubborn and self-indulgent; brashly unapologetic about the "right to film-making". THIS is the inspiration for a camera that walks through a mass of people, then slowly fixates on one monk, and then with patience and audacity, sits there 6 inches from his face for 30 seconds! THIS is the background for Werner's classic comment after being told he is the center of the universe: "That feels good hearing that!--I shouldn't tell my wife..." This is as good as Buddhism gets! And all in all, if you can still tolerate the mind-numbing reality of Buddhism, then this film may be alright. Me? I'm waiting for Werner's next documentary: "A Day At Wal-Mart".
The unexpected calmness of Werner Herzog
sleepsev28 March 2004
`Wheel of Time' is a very good film, but I admit that it is different from what I expected from Herzog. He is still very talented, but I doubt if the subject matter is best suited to him. `Wheel of Time' concerns many things, including religion, virtue, and faith, which in this case may not be the best subjects for Herzog. But when `Wheel of Time' deals with some strange and crazy rituals, political oppression, and rugged landscapes, these parts of the film are very satisfying.
Some scenes in `Wheel of Time' are magical, especially the scenes which show vast landscapes and people performing strange rituals. Those scenes are Herzogian, I think. Nobody does this kind of thing better than Herzog. If a cinephile watches these scenes, not knowing who shot them, he or she will guess correctly that they were shot by Herzog. These scenes make `Wheel of Time' rise way above television documentaries.
But other scenes are not as magical as I expect from Herzog's films. I think that maybe the religious subject matter of this film doesn't allow Herzog to be as playful in directing as he was in other films. It is very difficult for any filmmaker, including Herzog, to make an interesting documentary about something virtuous like this. It would be much easier to make an interesting film if the film is about `good vs. evil', or about some strange rituals in which people walk on fire and pierce themselves horrifically.
I think Herzog is like a wizard, and one can hardly makes a more magical film than him if the film is about nature-made or man-made madness, brutality, or suffering in life. But because of the subject matter of `Wheel of Time', this film is not my most favorite of Herzog's. I like `Wheel of Time' as much as Herzog's `How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck' (1976) and `The Flying Doctors of East Africa' (1969). I think these three films are very good films, but because the people portrayed in these films are not `very' strange nor `very' crazy, these three films lack some kind of excitement I found in other films by Herzog, especially when compared to Herzog's `Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices' (1995), `My Best Fiend' (1999), `The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner' (1974), and `Land of Silence and Darkness' (1971), which is my most favorite of Herzog's films.
Some parts of Herzog's `Lessons of Darkness' (1992) deal with political madness, and I think Herzog is good at this subject, too. In one scene in `Wheel of Time', a former political prisoner gave an interview about the brutality of the Chinese rule. This scene is very simple. It is just a normal interview. But for me the power of this scene is much more stronger than most scenes in `Wheel of Time'. And it also reminds me of some great scenes in `Lessons of Darkness' in which some people gave their own testimonies to what happened when Saddam invaded Kuwait. I think one thing that makes the scene about the former prisoner stand apart from other scenes in `Wheel of Time' is because this scene talks about `evil forces', while other scenes in `Wheel of Time' are about some kind of virtuous power.
Some scenes in `Wheel of Time' are magical, especially the scenes which show vast landscapes and people performing strange rituals. Those scenes are Herzogian, I think. Nobody does this kind of thing better than Herzog. If a cinephile watches these scenes, not knowing who shot them, he or she will guess correctly that they were shot by Herzog. These scenes make `Wheel of Time' rise way above television documentaries.
But other scenes are not as magical as I expect from Herzog's films. I think that maybe the religious subject matter of this film doesn't allow Herzog to be as playful in directing as he was in other films. It is very difficult for any filmmaker, including Herzog, to make an interesting documentary about something virtuous like this. It would be much easier to make an interesting film if the film is about `good vs. evil', or about some strange rituals in which people walk on fire and pierce themselves horrifically.
I think Herzog is like a wizard, and one can hardly makes a more magical film than him if the film is about nature-made or man-made madness, brutality, or suffering in life. But because of the subject matter of `Wheel of Time', this film is not my most favorite of Herzog's. I like `Wheel of Time' as much as Herzog's `How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck' (1976) and `The Flying Doctors of East Africa' (1969). I think these three films are very good films, but because the people portrayed in these films are not `very' strange nor `very' crazy, these three films lack some kind of excitement I found in other films by Herzog, especially when compared to Herzog's `Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices' (1995), `My Best Fiend' (1999), `The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner' (1974), and `Land of Silence and Darkness' (1971), which is my most favorite of Herzog's films.
Some parts of Herzog's `Lessons of Darkness' (1992) deal with political madness, and I think Herzog is good at this subject, too. In one scene in `Wheel of Time', a former political prisoner gave an interview about the brutality of the Chinese rule. This scene is very simple. It is just a normal interview. But for me the power of this scene is much more stronger than most scenes in `Wheel of Time'. And it also reminds me of some great scenes in `Lessons of Darkness' in which some people gave their own testimonies to what happened when Saddam invaded Kuwait. I think one thing that makes the scene about the former prisoner stand apart from other scenes in `Wheel of Time' is because this scene talks about `evil forces', while other scenes in `Wheel of Time' are about some kind of virtuous power.
Mandala
chaos-rampant13 May 2011
In his film My Son, My Son, his protagonist taunts a student meditating on a rock facing a river, telling him to open his eyes, that reality is out there. I was cautious of this, Herzog's encounter not with a simple madness but with an ancient, complex, beautiful point of view, but cautiously optimistic, curious.
We know that Herzog seeks truths in the extremities of life, in the madness that inhabits them. He often guides these subjects to be what he wants them to be, which is his personal reflection that we may find a more eloquent, resilient truth in what deviates rather than what abides, but his visual meditations are tried and true. True enough that Malick, a trobadour himself, has taken from them.
But is he merely a tourist in this, the Kalachakra initiation, a Westerner with a camera strapped around his neck approaching sacred ground with idle curiosity, or does he come in earnest, perhaps to learn?
He shows us the pilgrims travelling the thousands of miles to Bodh Gaya on foot, stopping every couple of steps on this journey that takes as much as three years for one of them, to prostrate themselves on the ground. He says nothing of this but there's no doubt in my mind on why he handpicks them among the crowds. They have a good story of spiritual struggle to tell, perhaps itself a form of holy madness. Elsewhere his camera prowls through a crowd of monks, in the end selectively settling upon the most mysterious face he could find.
There's one moment however in his meeting with the H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama that brilliantly reveals the chasm between these two worlds. Asked about it, the Dalai Lama explains to him what he believes to be the center of the universe, inside of each one of us, doing this with the goodhearted laugh that characterizes him. Mistaking this radiance of equanimity and happiness for an attempt at humour, Herzog quips back that he shouldn't tell his wife about this. The moment follows an awkward pause of silence and a dumbfounded look by the DL.
The above incident, which may reflect badly on him from a formal point but still reflects something, he chose to keep on the film as both a way of undercutting a solemnity he perhaps sees as banal and of showing how far the two cultures are. Herzog may be a stranger here but he's still a talented filmmaker.
And more. The uproar of the pilgrims, how they prepare food and tea for the monks, how they crowd for a good view of the Dalai Lama, he contrasts with the booming silence inside the sanctum, punctured repetitively by the sounds of monks at work on the great sand mandala, the representation of the cosmos.
This is one of the beautiful contrasts of the film. How the superstition of the peasants, who clamor for a crumble of a sacred dumpling thought to be a blessing, with the complex philosophical discussions on concepts of emptiness held openly among the monks elsewhere.
What do the simple folks who came down for this from Nepal understand of shunyata? What do we, in turn, understand of the spiritual importance of performing 100,000 asanas, sun salutations? And what does the Dalai Lama understand of the superstitions he practices in the ceremony, of dropping sticks to see where they may land as pointing into a direction?
Nevertheless, even a man of his own ideas like Herzog leaves this with newfound wisdom, with the potential to enrich us in turn. We get three unforgettable images in the end, all meditatios I will keep inside of me.
How the great sand mandala upon which the Tibetan monks worked tirelessly day and night is eventually destroyed, a palpable reminder of how all things come to pass. The different colored sands brushed aside blend together into abstract shape without pattern or meaning now, to be poured then into the river where after a time they will perhaps wash out in some distant shore.
In Graz, Austria, a security man stands guard in an almost empty hall, guarding nothing from nothing. The self, a barrier to our awareness.
And back again in Bodh Gaya, the ceremony now over, we see the hundreds of thousands of empty pillows left over by the pilgrims lining the floor. In the middle of this emptiness kneels alone one last monk, lost in meditation.
We know that Herzog seeks truths in the extremities of life, in the madness that inhabits them. He often guides these subjects to be what he wants them to be, which is his personal reflection that we may find a more eloquent, resilient truth in what deviates rather than what abides, but his visual meditations are tried and true. True enough that Malick, a trobadour himself, has taken from them.
But is he merely a tourist in this, the Kalachakra initiation, a Westerner with a camera strapped around his neck approaching sacred ground with idle curiosity, or does he come in earnest, perhaps to learn?
He shows us the pilgrims travelling the thousands of miles to Bodh Gaya on foot, stopping every couple of steps on this journey that takes as much as three years for one of them, to prostrate themselves on the ground. He says nothing of this but there's no doubt in my mind on why he handpicks them among the crowds. They have a good story of spiritual struggle to tell, perhaps itself a form of holy madness. Elsewhere his camera prowls through a crowd of monks, in the end selectively settling upon the most mysterious face he could find.
There's one moment however in his meeting with the H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama that brilliantly reveals the chasm between these two worlds. Asked about it, the Dalai Lama explains to him what he believes to be the center of the universe, inside of each one of us, doing this with the goodhearted laugh that characterizes him. Mistaking this radiance of equanimity and happiness for an attempt at humour, Herzog quips back that he shouldn't tell his wife about this. The moment follows an awkward pause of silence and a dumbfounded look by the DL.
The above incident, which may reflect badly on him from a formal point but still reflects something, he chose to keep on the film as both a way of undercutting a solemnity he perhaps sees as banal and of showing how far the two cultures are. Herzog may be a stranger here but he's still a talented filmmaker.
And more. The uproar of the pilgrims, how they prepare food and tea for the monks, how they crowd for a good view of the Dalai Lama, he contrasts with the booming silence inside the sanctum, punctured repetitively by the sounds of monks at work on the great sand mandala, the representation of the cosmos.
This is one of the beautiful contrasts of the film. How the superstition of the peasants, who clamor for a crumble of a sacred dumpling thought to be a blessing, with the complex philosophical discussions on concepts of emptiness held openly among the monks elsewhere.
What do the simple folks who came down for this from Nepal understand of shunyata? What do we, in turn, understand of the spiritual importance of performing 100,000 asanas, sun salutations? And what does the Dalai Lama understand of the superstitions he practices in the ceremony, of dropping sticks to see where they may land as pointing into a direction?
Nevertheless, even a man of his own ideas like Herzog leaves this with newfound wisdom, with the potential to enrich us in turn. We get three unforgettable images in the end, all meditatios I will keep inside of me.
How the great sand mandala upon which the Tibetan monks worked tirelessly day and night is eventually destroyed, a palpable reminder of how all things come to pass. The different colored sands brushed aside blend together into abstract shape without pattern or meaning now, to be poured then into the river where after a time they will perhaps wash out in some distant shore.
In Graz, Austria, a security man stands guard in an almost empty hall, guarding nothing from nothing. The self, a barrier to our awareness.
And back again in Bodh Gaya, the ceremony now over, we see the hundreds of thousands of empty pillows left over by the pilgrims lining the floor. In the middle of this emptiness kneels alone one last monk, lost in meditation.
Training Wheels
tieman6427 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Werner Herzog's "Wheel of Time" watches as Tibetan Buddhist monks embark on a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya, India. Once there, they create sand mandalas and engage in a series of elaborate rituals.
"Everyone is the centre of their own universe," the Dalai Lama tells Herzog. "Wheel of Time" itself seems to, at times, view its monks as being supremely self-centred and myopic. They engage in rituals, ceaseless prostrations, meditation and contemplation, rituals which Herzog devotes large chunks of his film to recording. The goal, we're told, is to achieve a "blissful acceptance of the illusory nature of self", but when does such self-cultivation become selfish and when does detachment from the self become but a dangerous denial of the self? The typical Buddhist argument is that only when we undergo "enough self-transformation" do we begin to see "larger realities beyond the importance of our own personal well-being". But this tends not to result in saintly bodhisattva, but something else entirely. To someone who sees himself and others as unreal, human suffering and death tends to appear laughably trivial.
"Wheel of Time's" last act delves into the persecution of Tibetans and Buddhists. Elsewhere the impermanence of sand mandalas are likened to the transient nature of all things; humans vanish like dust in the wind. The film climaxes with crowds of Buddhists trampling over one another for gifts, sweets and "blessings", actions which ironically counterpoint the many communal, sacrificial acts routinely committed by the monks.
6/10 – Worth one viewing.
"Everyone is the centre of their own universe," the Dalai Lama tells Herzog. "Wheel of Time" itself seems to, at times, view its monks as being supremely self-centred and myopic. They engage in rituals, ceaseless prostrations, meditation and contemplation, rituals which Herzog devotes large chunks of his film to recording. The goal, we're told, is to achieve a "blissful acceptance of the illusory nature of self", but when does such self-cultivation become selfish and when does detachment from the self become but a dangerous denial of the self? The typical Buddhist argument is that only when we undergo "enough self-transformation" do we begin to see "larger realities beyond the importance of our own personal well-being". But this tends not to result in saintly bodhisattva, but something else entirely. To someone who sees himself and others as unreal, human suffering and death tends to appear laughably trivial.
"Wheel of Time's" last act delves into the persecution of Tibetans and Buddhists. Elsewhere the impermanence of sand mandalas are likened to the transient nature of all things; humans vanish like dust in the wind. The film climaxes with crowds of Buddhists trampling over one another for gifts, sweets and "blessings", actions which ironically counterpoint the many communal, sacrificial acts routinely committed by the monks.
6/10 – Worth one viewing.
Epic Disappointment
livlov225 September 2023
Boring. I fell asleep. Just not well written at all. Uninteresting and I like this genre. It's overly done. It's like so what?! It lacks variety, rises and falls...it's just like one long boring scene. Very much leaves you with a who cares kind of feeling. I would say this is a failure. Lastly sometimes it's difficult to even understand what they are saying. I don't care about the lame so called conflict between characters. Seems like they are reaching. The acting? Well given what they have to work with I can't fault them. Seems like everyone was told to have this intense stare in their eyes and same rhythm of speech as if that's supposed to do something. I don't know not feeling it. Boring boring boring.
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