This documentary is about Thich Nhat Hanh and the mindfulness meditation center he started in France after he was exiled from Vietnam in the 1960’s. This is a very different kind of documentary – it is more about observation and experience than about learning the life of the master and the monks and nuns who live in Plum Village. Benedict Cumberbatch reads, in a voice that adds a mystical quality to the film, excerpts form one of Hanh’s early works. The film provides a series of glimpses – the daily rituals, the disciples, the visitors who attend mindfulness workshops – that define life at the center. It all creates its own meditative state. While I would have enjoyed seeing more about his history, that would have been a different film. Thumbs up for an insightful view into the manifestations of mindfulness but that could have done a better job of really understanding Hanh more deeply. I suspect that this film would likely appeal mostly to those who are into mindfulness meditation and/or interested in Thich Nhat Hanh.
