...Keanu Reeves?? As Siddartha Gautama? Really?You want to do a story of the mythical life of Buddha, and you have absolutely NO choice but to cast a white guy with body tanner and makeup on? Surrounded by tons of actual Asians?It was REALLY that hard to find a handsome young Indian man to play Siddartha? The second-most populous people in the world? I know this movie was the pet project of some LA Buddhist, but seriously, in 1993, we had to do blackface to cast for the story of one of the world's most prominent religions? For shame.If I were a better Buddhist, I suppose I'd laugh.

In the early 1990s Buddhism was experiencing another surge in popularity in the West, especially Tibetan Buddhism. This movie is an example of this growing interest in Buddhism in the West. While it does a good job of telling the story of the Buddha's life, the main teachings Buddhism, and Westerns growing appreciation of Buddha's teachings, there still are elements of romantism and exoticism that the West still has found hard not to cloth spiritual teachings that originated in East Asia. Perhaps this is the lot of a Hollywood interpretation of Buddhism. It also could be because the story seems to be oriented towards children, which makes it a movie that both children and adults can enjoy. The portrayal of the Buddha's life is the traditional mythological version of the story, complete with gods and demons, which makes it much more appealing to children. It's somewhat like Buddhist version of a fairy tale, except the story represents much deeper teachings of a truth that still applies to humans today. This is important to keep in mind for those not familiar with Buddhism. As is said in the movie, when Jesse's father tells him the story is a beautiful myth, Lama Norbu replies," It is one way of telling the truth, and children seem to love it."
While the acting is less than desirable sometimes, the cinematography is well done. Notice the blue, muted lighting while in the west, and the warmer, full lighting.
The movie can be an enjoyable way to give people of all ages a taste of Buddhism and the teachings of the Buddha, which, even over 2,500 years late, still speaks to us.