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Zen (2009 film)
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Wikipedia article
is a 2009 film directed by Banmei Takahashi and starring Nakamura Kantar II as Dogen, and Yuki Uchida as Orin. The story is based on the novel 'Eihei no kaze: Dgen no shgai' written by Tetsuo tani in 2001.
The film is a biography of Dgen Zenji, a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher. After travelling to China to study, Dogen founded the St school of Zen in Japan. The Buddhist Film Foundation described it as "a poignant, in-depth, reverent and surprisingly moving portrait of Eihei Dogen."
Reception
Russell Edwards of 'Variety' described it as "The origins of a spiritual tradition are depicted with prerequisite solemnity and a pleasing veneer of arthouse showmanship." Mark Schilling, writing for 'The Japan Times', gave the film three and a half stars and described it as a "rare serious film about this form of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood let alone practiced by ordinary Japanese."
Release
The film premiered in Japan in 2009. The following year, it had its US debut at the International Buddhist Film Festival.
The film was released on DVD and includes a short documentary entitled 'The Zen of Dogen' with Kazuaki Tanahashi.
References
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