IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.4K
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Two very different brothers get together for a temporary stay in a Japanese Zen monastery. The trip from Germany to Japan brings up some unexpected quests they need to manage. Soon both real... Read allTwo very different brothers get together for a temporary stay in a Japanese Zen monastery. The trip from Germany to Japan brings up some unexpected quests they need to manage. Soon both really must leave their ordinary lives behind to embark on a voyage to themselves.Two very different brothers get together for a temporary stay in a Japanese Zen monastery. The trip from Germany to Japan brings up some unexpected quests they need to manage. Soon both really must leave their ordinary lives behind to embark on a voyage to themselves.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 wins total
Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht
- Jimmy
- (as Jimmy Ochsenknecht)
Wilson Gonzalez
- Wilson
- (as a different name)
Anthony Lew Shun
- Anthony
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Though I haven't seen a lot of John Casavetes' work, apart from
that, this is one of the best modern (read: 1985-present) uses of
8mm film that I've ever seen. This is one of those films you just
have to throw yourself into. I'm not drawing a parallel between the
two--at all!--but people who have seen 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'
will recall how by the end of the first episode you had no idea what
was going on, right alongside the principle character. This movie
has a similar feel--It's unsettling at first, but ultimately presents
itself as a curiously wonderful juxtaposition of warmth and
coldness; interrelation and alienation. Very few films are capable
of doing this well. Oh, and as a side note -- this is NOT one of
those aimlessly meandering art films hell-bent on using 8mm to
generate indie/underground credibility. In sum: a thoughtfully
rewarding film about two very different German brothers lost in
Japan and discovering a fine gray line dividing the point of no
return from the point just before it and overcoming that dualism.
that, this is one of the best modern (read: 1985-present) uses of
8mm film that I've ever seen. This is one of those films you just
have to throw yourself into. I'm not drawing a parallel between the
two--at all!--but people who have seen 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'
will recall how by the end of the first episode you had no idea what
was going on, right alongside the principle character. This movie
has a similar feel--It's unsettling at first, but ultimately presents
itself as a curiously wonderful juxtaposition of warmth and
coldness; interrelation and alienation. Very few films are capable
of doing this well. Oh, and as a side note -- this is NOT one of
those aimlessly meandering art films hell-bent on using 8mm to
generate indie/underground credibility. In sum: a thoughtfully
rewarding film about two very different German brothers lost in
Japan and discovering a fine gray line dividing the point of no
return from the point just before it and overcoming that dualism.
I took a change with my movie rental dollars when I grabbed ENLIGHTENMENT GAURANTEED at the video store and found it to be a delightful, low budget picture. It's a German PLANES, TRAINS and AUTOMOBILES with spiritual overtones. The two main characters, who are brothers, make their way to a Japanese (Buddhist) Monastery to escape their lives and their troubles. The trip to the Monastery is great. However, once at the Monastery the film slows down too much. Too many shots of people banging drums in ritualistic bliss. Thankfully, the film soon picks up again with main characters gaining new perspectives on life. Throughout the film cemeteries, homeless people and ravens are referenced leaving the viewer to figure some things out on their own. If you like funny, semi-deep movies with no effects or explosions you may really dig this. Curiously, the actors used their real names for their characters which explians why Petra's kids look just like her.
This movie is really quite a feast. It shows two German brothers on a trip to Japan to visit a Zen monastery. Both brothers face personal questions: one has just been left by his wife, and the other, well, that comes too late in the film for me to discuss here.
Upon arriving in Tokyo, they settle in a comfortable hotel and go out for a night on the town. Problem: where is the hotel? At first this seems comical, but it quickly becomes a serious crisis.
They sleep in cardboard boxes on the street.
The brothers' ability to deal with these problems and their other problems are examined in the light of the daily mundane tasks they take upon themselves when they arrive at the monastery.
The movie handles religion very well. It shows the value of their meditation without getting overly preachy. It shows the brothers, especially Uwe, the one whose wife left him, trying very hard to find a meaning in what they do.
The movie is about people and the deep problems people have. Some viewers might find this boring, but I found it compelling. There is no one thing I can point to, but the whole feel of the movie and the characters seemed right.
Upon arriving in Tokyo, they settle in a comfortable hotel and go out for a night on the town. Problem: where is the hotel? At first this seems comical, but it quickly becomes a serious crisis.
They sleep in cardboard boxes on the street.
The brothers' ability to deal with these problems and their other problems are examined in the light of the daily mundane tasks they take upon themselves when they arrive at the monastery.
The movie handles religion very well. It shows the value of their meditation without getting overly preachy. It shows the brothers, especially Uwe, the one whose wife left him, trying very hard to find a meaning in what they do.
The movie is about people and the deep problems people have. Some viewers might find this boring, but I found it compelling. There is no one thing I can point to, but the whole feel of the movie and the characters seemed right.
I adored this movie; it was sweet, funny, honest, beautiful, and poetic; I was smitten. As a friend of mine (a film critic) wrote to me, "I've rarely seen anything that matches form to content in such an easy and really loving way."
10Shahman
Enlightenment Guaranteed may seem funny at first but in fact it's very serious and explicitly Buddhist, since it involves two German brothers and their adventures in getting into and out of Japan's Monzen Buddhist monastery. Unfortunately the only format in which it has been released in North America is German VHS with English Subtitled which is somehow disappointing but the beauty of the movie almost makes you forget this little problem, The more interesting fact is that the actors actually had to live the monastery life during the shooting: for two weeks they and the crew never left the Monzen grounds!
Did you know
- SoundtracksI Will Survive (Ich überleb's)
Written by Freddie Perren, Dino Fekaris
Performed by Gustav-Peter Wöhler
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $1,948
- Runtime
- 1h 49m(109 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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