Do you want to see ‘Little Buddha’?

Little Buddha (1994)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 22
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 8

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 9,416

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Movie Info

Bernardo Bertolucci attempts to mix Buddhist spirituality with childhood fantasy in Little Buddha. When Dean Conrad (Chris Isaak), a Seattle architect, comes home from work one day, he finds two robed Buddhist monks sitting in his living room talking with his wife Lisa (Bridget Fonda). Guided by a series of disturbing dreams, the monks have traveled from Nepal to Seattle because they believe that the Conrad's ten-year-old son, Jesse (Alex Wiesendanger) may be the reincarnation of a legendary

PG, 2 hr. 3 min.

Art House & International, Drama

Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci

Written By: Bernardo Bertolucci, Rudy Wurlitzer

In Theaters: May 25, 1994 Wide

On DVD: Apr 3, 2001

Miramax

Cast

Critic Reviews for Little Buddha

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (8)

Bertolucci's celebrated burnt-orange-and-burnished-lemon look remains handsome, and the story itself still commands some interest as a pivot into daunting material.

December 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

A crazily mesmerizing pop artifact that ranks alongside Herman Hesse's novel Siddhartha in terms of extreme earnestness and quasi-religious entertainment value.

August 30, 2004 Full Review Source: New York Times

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Janet Maslin

New York Times

Top Critic

Though uneven, the film is engagingly moving and often humorous.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Joe Brown

Washington Post

Top Critic

Little Buddha succeeds precisely because of its guileless innocence.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Top Critic

The modern sequences lack realism or credibility. The ancient sequences play like the equivalent of a devout Bible story.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

As beautifully photographed and intelligently-written as the movie is, it has no emotional depth or appeal, and is often as cold and clinical as its gray depiction of Seattle.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

Excellent introduction to Buddhism--strongest portions are mythical excerpts of Buddha's life.

April 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews

| Comment (1)

John A. Nesbit

Old School Reviews Source: Old School Reviews

Although the search for enlightenment may not have much in the way of high-concept appeal, the film should satisfy adventurous moviegoers as well as the large number of adults already intrigued by eastern religions.

December 7, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

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TV Guide's Movie Guide

Bertolucci's epic is a disappointment.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Wally Hammond

Time Out

Has some captivating qualities about both contemporary American life and Tibetan Buddhism.

May 12, 2004 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment (1)

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A well-realized parable about Siddhartha, the Dalai Lama, reincarnation, and a boy's journey of discovery and death.

February 13, 2002 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality and Practice

Part fairy tale, part travelogue, and part kindergarten lesson in Eastern religion. Not a single part is persuasive or compelling.

January 9, 2002 Full Review Source: Movieline

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Stephen Farber

Movieline

Some of the movie's mysteries are more unsuccessfully secular than rapturously eternal, but the doorway opens far enough to offer a few glimpses of nirvana.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Little Buddha

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Ultimately this fell flat for me. I was more interested in the segements relating Siddhartha's story than in any of the modern day goings on, even if Keanu Reeves seems to mainly be in the film to look pretty (which his delivery of lines suggests).

December 12, 2010

Kylie B

Super Reviewer

I watched this film in my religion class for the first time, and it was enough for me. However, I do give it credit for staying biblically correct to the religion!

January 29, 2010