Miasto Movie in April/Urban Spirituality
Starting in March and continuing in April we will be looking for any manifestation of spirituality in the city
With the advent of spring, as part of the “Miasto Movie” screenings, we have launched a new thematic cycle. We will try to portray or rather capture, if only fleetingly, the ever ethereal and always elusive nature of urban spirituality.
Each city has its own secrets, its own facets, upon which the civic identity is founded. So far we have showcased among others the city’s scary and seedy side, full of dark mysteries and dangers; we have visited sad and lonesome cities as well as fantastical fairy-tale like and imaginary ones. Now, our goal is to reach beneath the surface, to go deeper than before so as to see the more metaphysical aspects of the city. We construe (and construct) urban spirituality in a number of ways. On the one hand, each city is typified by its own aura, its own unprecedented climate and unrepeatable character. Paying each city a visit, we experience a range of different moods or emotional states. On the other hand, it is the people that make the city complete. If there are people – and there are people indeed – be they residents, tourists, travellers or casual visitors, there are beliefs, customs, assertions, etc. Each person has a set of convictions that are dear to him or her. Each person relies on some form of judgment or belief while making life-changing decisions. These axioms may be of religious or scientific nature. They may be also traditional or private – possibilities are virtually countless. All of them form particles constituting the spiritual tissue of the city and its community.
What we are about to experience is a unique, film journey in search of different manifestations of urban spirituality.
directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, running time: 140’, 1993.
Original audio with Polish subtitles.
Little Buddha – Bernardo Bertolucci, one of the masters of European cinema this time around takes us on a spiritual journey to Tibet. The man behind such classic masterpieces as “Last Tango in Paris”, “Dreamers” and the nine Academy Award winner “The Last Emperor”, starts his on-screen journey in the United States, in particular in Seattle. The parents (Chris Isaac and Bridget Fonda) of a young child
Are visited by Tibetan monk Lama Norbu, who brings them a piece of extraordinary news: chances are that their few-year-old son Jesse is another reincarnation of great master Lama Dorje. The monk offers the boy a trip to Bhutan, where he would be subjected to a Buddhist trial, the result of which would reveal the true reincarnation of Dorje. Apart from Jesse, other children are invited to the Buddhist monastery: a girl from India and a boy from Katmandu.
As always, Bertolucci provides an elegant and subtle filmic portrait of his characters and their adventures. The film is complemented by Vittorio Storaro’s stunning photography and the on-screen presence of Keanu Reeves (a Buddhist in his private life), playing the role of Siddhartha.