| Miramax Family Films | Release Date: May 25, 1994 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
|
Positive:
15
Mixed:
17
Negative:
1
|
Critic Reviews
The two disparate stories never gel, and Keanu Reeves doesn't fully capture the dignity of a deity. [27 May 1994, p.8]
The modern sequences lack realism or credibility. The ancient sequences play like the equivalent of a devout Bible story. The result is a slow-moving and pointless exercise by Bertolucci, whose “The Last Emperor” was a much superior telling of a similar story about a child who is chosen for great things.
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This peculiar film is more than one beer short of a six-pack. It's part
massive folly, part screwball tract and part steel nerve, even a little
heroic. [25 May 1994]
For all its Himalayan aspirations, "Little Buddha" is shallow and superficial.[25 May 1994, p.69]
Being blissed out may be an enviable state for a human being, but it is not necessary the best one for a film. [25 May 1994, p.F1]
With Little Buddha, Bertolucci moves from political themes to religious phenomena. But despite his obvious care and moments of great visceral beauty, Little Buddha never quite captivates your imagination. It's a pretty but hollow bauble. [25 May 1994, p.E2]
The real surprise, and Bertolucci's best achievement here, is the performance of Prince Siddhartha by Keanu Reeves. That is not a misprint. Reeves has done tolerable work in the past, except for his feeble Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, but here he carries off an extremely demanding role. [13 Jun 1994]
Little Buddha is ambitious, sincere and squeaky clean -- a dose of spiritual eyewash that skims the surface of the Buddhist religion and leaves us wishing for more. [25 May 1994, p.E3]
Little Buddha is strange in the way that only Bernardo Bertolucci movies can be strange, and the strangest thing about it is the fact that Keanu Reeves isn't the strangest thing about it. [25 May 1994, p.5D]
With such a sprawling and over the top plot, it's hard to remain focused on what's important. Bertolucci is so concerned with the epic quality of the film that he forgets to give it any real substance. Reeves doesn't do himself any favours in his turn as the unconvincing Buddha either.
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Little Buddha is a visually stunning but dramatically underwhelming attempt to forge a bridge between the ancient Eastern religion and modern Western life. Bernardo Bertolucci's second foray into remote Asian territory is considerably less successful than his first, "The Last Emperor," as the double narrative is awkwardly structured and never comes into sharp focus.
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Bertolucci has recently called himserf "an amateur Buddhist". But he is still very much a professional filmmaker and these two sides of him don't always match up. [08 May 1994, p.27]
Here [Bertolucci]'s desire to communicate simply has become simplistic as he skims the surface of ancient ideas of reincarnation and nirvana. [20 May 1994, p.11]
Designed to lead viewers on a latter-day vision quest, "Little Buddha" instead offers only mystical mumbo-jumbo. And poorly plotted mumbo-jumbo, at that. [27 May 1994, p.L32]
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