johnfos

I've just seen this movie for the first time and thought I would pen a short comment, but feel that Look Both Ways is a movie that could improve with multiple viewings...

Over the space of a weekend we follow a group of ordinary Australians who are mostly connected through the tragedy of a train crash. We watch as couples and families work through their feelings, cope with their relationships, and manage health problems.

In so doing Look Both Ways explores the ups and downs we all face as we lead our lives and has a relevance for each and every viewer. It's not just light entertainment, there is a serious message here as well.

And yet this is not a movie that has actors preaching to the audience; in fact there is very limited dialogue. The movie is often carried by fast-moving images and an eclectic soundtrack.

It's a bit simplistic to call this a "road movie", but certainly much of the story follows a group of unlikely Bhutanese travellers hitch-hiking and riding in all manner of vehicles. Interspersed with this theme is a second story of a love triangle in the rugged mountains. Both stories are commentaries about the complexities of life and romance in the Himalayas as western ways take root.

Comparisons will inevitably be drawn with Khyentse Norbu's earlier movie, The Cup, and I have to admit that I preferred The Cup. I'll never forget the youthful exuberance of those monks as the World Cup soccer final approached. And I feel the Buddhist message was a bit more direct in The Cup.

However, the tagline of Travellers and Magicians is "The bitter and sweet of temporary things", and this sounds pretty Buddhist to me. We tend to forget that everything is transitory and grasp at it as if it will exist forever, and this is the cause of our suffering.

And that, kind friends, is the extent of my Buddhist wisdom for today.

Enjoy!