Purely Joyful Movie!

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Kumaré is a fascinating exploration of religious culture and the New age movement that has been ever growing as a form of bringing Eastern forms of thought and philosophy to a Western audience. As someone who has had first hand experience in this world of rituals, chants and self improvement I was deeply fascinated by both the premise and the twists and turns of the film. Kumaré takes a deep dive into the world of spiritual gurus as an everyman, film director Vikram Gandhi decides to experience first hand what it means to be a spiritual guru and whether this whole New-age deal is complete nonsense of is there in fact something deeper that people can dwell into. it's a very very interesting look into this idea of the New age and the modern man's need for self fulfilment purpose and the existential fulfilment that these modern gurus are able to fulfill. Personally my experience with the film drew many parallels with many so called 'gurus' that I have personally had experiences with, while never fully convinced of these 'holy men' and 'advanced being' or whatever they choose to call themselves I always had the personal agenda that aligned very much with Vikram's visions in that we ourselves have the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong and to self improve. The most interesting parts of the documentary reflect this belief and how this agenda of Vikram eventually divulges into a belief system of his own. Just going to show that while the idea of a spiritual guru or spiritual leader may be simply phathomed out of thin air the sense of belief that people are able to mirror and reflect onto the figure or themselves is undisputedly real and genuine. Kumaré takes audiences on a fascinating exploration of this idea and director Vikram's eventual conclusion of this genuine relationship and bond that actually came out of an idea that had no authentic basis. I wonderfully emotional and suspenseful documentary for anyone who has any interest in the subject matter.

Brilliant in the simplicity and the true essence of the movie: We can find meaning in whatever we want to find meaning, in other words, we are the creators of our own personal and relative reality. Whatever we put our faith in, becomes truth. It doesn't matter if it is a fake guru or a true one. It doesn't matter. Period.In the end, what does a "true guru" really means? Maybe it means that it will sacrifice anything in the disciple's way to the true truth, even himself.The film unveils the truth about the illusions set out in the world about systems of thought carried out by all the religions and disciplines. The systems of thought are useful in every one of them as a pathway, not an end. This film hands out unpretentiously, like every truth is, a simple and true way of spotting the true gurus.

Vikram Gandhi, raised in New Jersey of Asian Indian parents, became suspicious of gurus and, in order to convince himself (and others) of their suspect credibility, he set out to show that he could fake it. And fake it he did, ultimately establishing a small group of followers in Phoenix, Arizona.It is not clear just what Gandhi has proved by his experiment. He proved that *he* could pass himself off as an Indian guru, but he had all of the ingredients: his pretend accent (easily come by); his carefully fabricated appearance; his proficiency in yoga to the point where he could conduct classes; his emphasis on meditation; and a message that was generic enough that most anyone could find a way to respond to it, namely that each of us has an inner guru that represents our best and truest self. I was conflicted in how I felt about what Gandhi did. The only thing that I can see where he flat lied was in his claiming to be from a small village in India. I do have a problem with Gahndi's grand plan to make this into a movie from the start, giving some credence to the opinion that it was not his followers from whom he was wanting to extract money, but rather from the ticket sales to his movie. Just how cynical Gahndi was in his approach is open to debate.On the positive side, Gahndi would often tell his followers that he was not who they thought he was. As far as I am concerned Kumaré made a perfectly good guru. He had very sympathetic eyes and was a good listener--would that many a psychiatrist do as well as he. And it is not like Gandhi just flipped a switch to try out his experiment; he researched the field and developed a classic guru look and message. I don't see where he did much harm, and could have done good. The big failings of many gurus is their love of money and sex--recall the antics of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh for example. But, as presented, Kumaré was not eliciting sex nor was he apparently extorting money. If Gahndi set out to make a mockery of gurus, then I don't think he achieved his goal. In fact, after revealing the truth to his followers many of them continued to regard what he had to offer as valuable.I think that what Gahndi proved is how eager many people are to get spiritual guidance and how appreciative they are to find someone who will take them seriously and listen to them. Initially I viewed Kumaré's followers as foolishly gullible, but on further reflection I found their behaviors perfectly understandable. Compared to some of the far out eccentrics Karmaré ran into (like the sect that believed they had come from another planet), Kumaré seemed well within the bounds of believability.

I feel compelled to review this movie because my take on it seems to differ from all the others I read. Yes it is true that Vikram was no spiritual master. However, his intent is performing this experiment was noble from the outset - to protect the gullible from phony gurus who would prey on them. But to Vikram's great surprise, he discovered that a regular practice of yoga and meditation, coupled with a desire for sincere insight, does lead to deeper connection with the Divine within. His message was always pure - that each of us holds a Divine spark which we can develop. He remained true to himself from the beginning, treating his followers with gentleness and love. It is no surprise that all benefited from such contact and practice. In the process, Vikram discovered his own higher self, and what was initially pretense became a sincere desire to help those who sought his advice and to elevate himself as he learned from his experience. This was a beautiful and profoundly moving film.