This spellbinding documentary resists all classification and defies comparison. First-time director Ahsen Nadeem originally set out to helm a straightforward documentary portrait, a sociocultural examination of organized religion as filtered through the lens of extremist, mountain-dwelling Japanese Buddhist monks. But midway, he began to realize that the real motivation belying his quest had less to do with the taciturn monks than with his own complicated relationship with faith and culture... He faced an immense challenge, in reconciling his fundamentalist Muslim upbringing with his love for an American woman... and confessing their marriage to his traditionalist parents after several years in the dark. Undaunted, he turns to the Buddhists for answers.
Nadeem's journey toward self-enlightenment and actualization becomes the centerpiece of the film - a frequently hilarious but also thoughtful and provocative journey into the depths of one man's soul and his quest to tell the truth - not only to his mater and paterfamilias, but to himself and even to us, as the audience. There are marvelous surprises to be had along the way, especially the moving, tender friendship that blossoms onscreen between Nadeem and a young Japanese apprentice monk who works in a monastery gift shop... A friendship that will change each man's life in unforeseeable and indelible ways.
Nadeem has cited Ross McElwee (Sherman's March) as a key influence. But it's more distinct than anything McElwee has created - and actually reaches further... Distinguished by the the depth and profundity of its gaze and the loftiness of its thematic reach. It also benefits from spectacular location photography of the Japanese mountains and a taut narrative structure that keeps us guessing on the outcome of the director's quest - right up til the final sequence. Nadeem worked on this project for years, investing enormous amounts of time, thought, care and revelation into every frame... And it shows. This is a truly unique and special picture. Don't miss it.
