Little Buddha

This adventure, interwoven with the spectacular tale of Siddhartha’s journey toward enlightenment, makes for magical, mind-broadening entertainment. Read full review

You might not think of this as a family film, but it is a great one. [27 May 1994, p.B]

What is surprising is the beguiling, unpretentious result: "Little Buddha," a modern fable about a Seattle boy believed to be a reincarnated Buddhist teacher, endears the audience to the Tibetan doctrine with a glowing, almost Disneyesque panache. Read full review

Although the search for enlightenment may not have much in the way of high-concept appeal, the film should satisfy adventurous moviegoers as well as the large number of adults already intrigued by eastern religions. Children with open minds will also find much pleasure in the characters of the children and the kindly old monk. Read full review

There's something ridiculous in the picture, but something sublime as well. It would be a shame to miss either, a pity not to open your eyes as well as your heart. [25 May 1994, p.1C]

Bertolucci's latest effort probably won't create much commotion of any kind. But on balance, it isn't a bad little picture. [27 May 1994, p.22]

It's wondrously unreal. [25 May 1994, p.F02]

In Little Buddha, the Italian director offers an utterly sincere, respectful introduction to a religion that is, for people raised in the Judeo-Christian tradition, largely a mystery. [27 May 1994, p.21]

It's an ambitious, eye-filling and thought-provoking work, but it manages to be frustratingly uneven and doesn't really represent Bertolucci at his most fluent. [27 May 1994]

With the kind of dignity rarely found in movies today, Bertolucci has tried - if only with mixed success - to address the things that really matter. [27 May 1994, p.D3]

This is an audacious project and one which, for all its flaws, has much to commend it. Read full review

Little Buddha displays a deliberate innocence that suits its subject, even if it contrasts so markedly with much of Mr. Bertolucci's moodier, more unsettling work. Read full review

Untouched by cynicism and irony, "Little Buddha" has the wide-eyed, innocent feel of a fable, perhaps because Bertolucci has set out to explicate Buddhism to skeptical Westerners as if to an audience of children. Bertolucci's audaciously campy casting coup succeeds, and not just because Reeves's presence will lure Sassy readers and curiosity-seekers. Read full review

Some of the movie's mysteries are more unsuccessfully secular than rapturously eternal, but the doorway opens far enough to offer a few glimpses of nirvana. Read full review

Keanu Reeves's portrayal of Siddartha is less than inspired, and there are candid depictions of human suffering in his portion of the movie that could be troubling for some spectators. As a work of visual art, the film is deeply impressive, however, reconfirming Bertolucci and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro as brilliant choreographers of cinematic time and space. [03 Jun 1994, p.10]