Enlightenment Guaranteed
by Doris Dörrie
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Gustav-Peter Wöhler, Uwe OchsenknechtDirector: Doris Dörrie
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language); German (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: Color, Digital Sound, Dolby, Import, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 105 minutes
Release Date: 2002-09-24
Publisher: Capitol Home Video
Studio: Capitol Home Video
VHS Movie Reviews of Enlightenment Guaranteed
Movie Review: Delightful film illuminates enlightenment
Summary: 4 Stars
The tale of two middle-age German brothers learning to let go in a Japanese Zen monastery, this film may not lead to your own enlightenment, but it is guaranteed to provide a few laughs, as well perhaps as stimulate a moment or two of personal reflection.
The humor comes mostly from the sparks given off in the clash of cultures, in this case not only German/Japanese, but also Christian/Buddhist. Uwe's middle-class world is turned upside down when his wife leaves with the kids. His sympathetic brother Gustav takes him along to his meditation retreat at the Soto Zen monastery at Monzen (a real temple in Ishikawa prefecture). Before getting to the monastery and the more insightful part of the film, the brothers stumble through a number of misadventures in Tokyo.
Director Doris Dörrie appears like many westerner writers and filmmakers to have been overwhelmed with the glittery facade of Japan, including tired Asian philosophical cliches about emptiness and no-self. This actually works out fine within context; one might expect her two innocents abroad to be taken in by such bromides. Where her sensitivity shines through is in not only having her characters come to understand the significance in these cliches, but also in having them work out a framework into which to fit their Japan experiences that then gives their lives a trajectory for resolving inner conflicts.
Shot on digital video, the film looks more like a home movie. But unlike more expensive, better looking films that really do leave you feeling empty, Enlightenment Guaranteed will leave you with a warm feeling, a smile, and perhaps a new way to look at life.
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Summary of Enlightenment Guaranteed
Uwe and Gustav are two middle-aged brothers whole lives are a mess: Uwe's wife just left him and Feng Shui consultant, Gustav, is feeling unfulfilled. This odd couple travel together to a monastery outside Tokyo. Enroute, their mid-life crisis turns into a midnight crisis when they get lost in Tokyo's neon jungle and can't find their way back to the hotel. It's down and out in Asia's brave new world. They survive by their wits and certianly never expect the Zen concept of "leaving everything behind" to be like this. The brothers' eventual arrival at the monastery is an immersion of a more subtle kind. The mundane and the sublime - where does the one stop and the other start: Still, the enigma of enlightenment keeps them going. Although it often seems just within their grasp, it continues to elude them. And yet, even they don't fully realize it, at the very core of their being, it's changing them....Art House & International VHS Video
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