akashasoma

I knew a lot about the Hare Krishna movement even before watching the film. I knew many things in the film, yet I was intrigued by the way it presented the events. The film contains a lot of historical and unique footage from the hippie era. I appreciate that the filmmakers also opened up some controversial topics, however, they did not go to the very core of these topics and only mentioned those that could be defended and did not cast a bad light on the founders and the overall philosophy of the movement.

So this is not an independent view of the Hare Krishna movement, as the filmmakers are believers and devotees. One must therefore reckon that the film is a kind of positive self-presentation and to some extent an attempt to evangelize the viewer.

I didn't start watching the film with any expectations, but the story and the film's atmosphere hit me very much within. I've also read the book that was the source material and compared to the movie. The book is more direct in its message. In the movie, the messages are more implied and so you don't really know what the two words are. But I suspect I do.

The acting is great, the music and cinematography are haunting.

Perhaps I missed some element of lightness, of humor, in the film. The characters seemed constantly morose and serious.

Despite that the film is certainly worth seeing and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see a film with a deeper and more sensitive message. Definitely one of the best Czech films I've seen.