Six years before he became the messiah Neo in The Matrix, Keanu Reeves played one of the world’s most mystical characters, Prince Siddhartha, in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Little Buddha.
Casting Reeves as the guy who evolved into Buddha could have been risky. Fortunately, with skin tone considerably darkened and head covered in luxuriant ringlets, Keanu is pretty convincing. The junior Buddha’s state of mind varies from earnest and agitated to serene, all within Reeves’ limited repertoire. It’s not his fault that the holy man trots out a lot of homilies which may be deeply profound to the converted but can sound trite to non-believers.
In his second excursion into the East after the far more impressive The Last Emperor, Bertolucci and co-writers Mark Peploe and Rudy Wirlitzer overlay two narratives: the aged Lama Norbu’s (Ying Ruocheng) journey from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan to Seattle in search of the reincarnation of his revered late teacher; and the birth of Siddhartha, his marriage, discovery of pain, suffering and death, and search for enlightenment.
In Seattle, Norbu tracks down upscale couple Dean and Lisa Konrad (Chris Isaak and Bridget Fonda) and tells them he believes their nine-year-old son, Jesse (Alex Wiesendanger) may be the reborn lama. Despite their scepticism, he persuades them to bring Jesse to Bhutan, where he’ll be evaluated against two other candidates to determine who is truly the reincarnate. A flimsy sub-plot turns on the Konrads’ marital difficulties.
The film meanders along until the final act when it finally comes to life with spectacular battle sequences and a devastatingly poignant death. Ying Ruocheng, who also appeared in The Last Emperor, is superb as the dignified Norbu. Isaak, however, demonstrates why he’s had far more success as a singer than an actor, the normally dependable Fonda is under-used, and Wiesendanger is barely adequate as Jesse: it’s no surprise to discover this was the kid’s second and final movie.
Stunning photography by Vittorio Storaro and evocative score by Ryuichi Sakamoto both deserved a stronger, more incisive drama. Generous extras comprise a 'making of’ featurette and the theatrical trailer.
