Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

kaiser100 I am a practising Tibetan Buddhist and take seriously the teachings of reincarnation, including the existence of 'tulkus', children who are the reincarnation of enlightened masters who have chosen to return to the world to continue to help other beings. Naturally, I was drawn to this film.However, that does not mean I do not have criticisms of the tulku system, and Unmistaken Child does not flinch from showing all sides of the issue. Taking a child away from his parents at three years of age is a highly questionable act in my opinion, and it is clear that the parents have no real say in the matter. The monk is a very kind and faithful person but also seems to be kind of unbalanced from grief and his search borders on obsessive. The tulku certification process also seems too vulnerable to subtle manipulation and cues by the people who really want the child to be the reincarnation of the deceased master.But to the film's great credit, it does not attempt to take sides, presenting a very different way of life, reality, and set of values than ours, and it is important to question the automatic assumption many of us make that our culture is inherently superior to others.The cinematography is also outstanding and the landscape of the Himilayas truly stunning. The depiction of the peasant's way of life, virtually unchanged for centuries, is remarkable and an important cultural document as this lifestyle vanishes from much of the rest of the earth.

ianhyphen In Unmistaken Child, Baratz paints his viewers a very clear picture of the role faith plays in the lives of modern Tibetan Buddhist "Clergy".I use the word "paints" above because beauty permeates the film in every aspect; from a deep look into the Eastern culture to the psychosocial intermingling of love, faith and family. Altogether, The film offers an astounding experience. My only qualm with the film is the lack of a realistic amount of counter "evidence". After some time, I couldn't help thinking that the young costar's behavior was a little too "on point".To counter this, Baratz does little explaining and opinion stating. Thus, the viewer's cognitive and emotional interaction with the film come quite naturally. Creating his or her own opinion of the scenario, the viewer is engrossed in a wellspring of previously unexplored trails of thought. One begins to see the film, not as evidence of some truth, but as a window peering into the truth of another.If Eastern culture, spirituality, or real life drama interest you in the least, watch Unmistaken Child ASAP. It is available to stream on the leading online movie rental website :).

imdb-oldhat Unmistaken Child documents another world. It is a world where events that seem to be the products of belief are actually experienced. A deceased saint chooses to be reincarnated; his devoted assistant is asked to locate a child whose body is now inhabited by the saint. Worlds of knowledge that most of us call superstition are brought into play. What is most astounding is that everyone involved in this challenge agrees that the mission and the saint himself, in whatever form he appears, are sacred, and that finding and bringing him to recognition is, as the young assistant says, "a thousand times more important" than anything else.Nati Baratz, the Israeli filmmaker responsible for this amazing movie, started out to make a film about a group of Tibetan Jews. That he was drawn into filming the search for the reincarnated saint and willing to devote over five years of work to that effort is testimony to the power of attraction presented by the monks whose search is documented. That some of the highest spiritual leaders alive today, including the Dalai Lama, allowed Mr. Baratz and his crew to film their intimate meetings and sacred rituals testifies additionally to the deep trust these leaders invested in the filmmaker.We the audience can only watch, perhaps in disbelief, perhaps in reverence of the devotion to task - both the task of locating the reincarnated saint and the task of filming the arduous search. Nothing is asked of us as we watch events unfold. Detail by detail, everything is revealed in its own time. Baratz patiently shows us another way of being, one that challenges and at the same time embraces our Western logic driven frame of reference.Is this film evidence that those who hold the great spiritual knowledge of the East are willing at last to share their knowledge with us? Or are we simply being shown the chasm that divides us from that knowledge? Has the time come for humanity to awaken from its eternity of sleep? Or are we simply being shown another cultural reality? These are some of the questions viewers might ponder after seeing Unmistaken Child.

dumsumdumfai By far, this doc is as standard as you get. And it has no gimmicks. Everything is chronological. No heavy voice over narration. It lets the story tell itself - the most traditional kind.The camera follows the journey of a Tibetan monk in search for the reincarnation of his master. The pressure is overwhelming to say the least. He is given some clues and it is interesting to see the very argumentative confirmation process. But the subject and journey is interesting. You see the crucial points coming, you anticipate them yet it is more than what you can imagine - simply because it is not dramatic - because most of the time, the people involved holding down some of their feelings.This remarkable film seems to have followed a quest from 2001 to 2005 or 2006. and only ending editing 2 weeks ago. To have traveled so far for so long but presented a story with so much dignity and humility is an achievement in itself - to have a soul almost.*spolier* one key passage (the director alluded to this as well) is the taking away of the child. and what the parent, particularly the father, commented on.This reminds me of Weeping Camel' doc film I saw a few years back. It seems to have that same soul. The film does not call attention to itself but to and respect of its subjects.Substance is not about quantity; and depth is not always complex - but maybe about a journey or a certain truth.During Q&A the director also mention it took a long time for the Monks to trust what he is doing.