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Movies / On DVD / Unmistaken Child
Unmistaken Child

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Unmistaken Child (2009)

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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:24

Rotten:6

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: Nati Baratz's thoughtful, beautifully filmed documentary is a moving testament to the power of faith.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Jun 3, 2009 Limited

Synopsis: Unmistaken Child is a real time documentation of the search for a reincarnated Tibetan master, told through the eyes of his lifelong disciple. Visually stunning, emotionally gripping, and shot over...

Unmistaken Child is a real time documentation of the search for a reincarnated Tibetan master, told through the eyes of his lifelong disciple. Visually stunning, emotionally gripping, and shot over the course of four years, the film follows an ages-old sacred quest through the eyes of a remarkable attendant.

After 26 years of isolated meditation in a mountain cave, Lama Konchog became world renowned as one of the greatest Tibetan Masters of our times. In 2001, at the age of 84, he passed away and his shy and devoted disciple, Tenzin Zopa, was instructed by the Dalai Lama to search for his master’s reincarnation. The ‘unmistaken child’ must be found within 4 years, before it becomes too difficult to separate him from his parents.

Tenzin entered the service of his master at age of 7, at his own request, and had been with the master continuously for the 21 years until his death. The loss of his teacher leaves him bereft and utterly lonely, and he is unsettled by his responsibility to carry out this highly secretive search - that of finding his beloved spiritual father embodied in a little boy that may be anywhere in the world.

His search crosses lands, passing though starkly beautiful mountains and small villages that appear to be unchanged for hundreds of years. Assisted by astrology, signs in dreams and the whispers of villagers, Tenzin travels by helicopter, mule and foot, and when he does come upon an apparent contender, we join Tenzin and his young charge through the mysterious procedures that will—or will not—confirm the reincarnation. We have seen similar tests before in movies like Martin Scorsese's Kundun; but to witness the real thing is even more magical.

While Unmistaken Child brings to light a rarely seen aspect of the Buddhist faith, the true revelation is the journey of Tenzin the man. Modest, shy, but with a delightfully impish sense of humor, we come to know a man who appears to be of another time and place and yet is profoundly living in the present. Alone on his quest, he is only able to share his thoughts and feelings with filmmaker, Nati Baratz, and his simple honesty and unselfconsciousness make the viewer a privileged partner in Tenzin’s passage to the next phase of his remarkable life.

[More]

Starring: Tenzin Zopa, Dalai Lama

Starring: Tenzin Zopa, Dalai Lama

Director: Nati Baratz

Director: Nati Baratz
Producer: Ilil Alexander, Arik Bernstein, Nati Baratz
Studio: Oscilloscope Pictures

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Release:

Nov 3, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 0
  • Widescreen - 1.66

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - English, Hindi, Tibetan
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, Hindi, Tibetan
  • Subtitles - English
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Unmistaken Child

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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How far can an incredibly cute kid and an incredibly beautiful setting go toward making a movie worthwhile? Not far enough, as indicated by Unmistaken Child.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
10/22/09
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

At once a compelling story and a meditative experience -- not something you'll find in Hollywood karma.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
10/02/09
Jim Slotek
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

This documentary is only partly a story of the chosen one; mainly, and more intriguingly, it's a chronicle of the choosing one, of the nervous young monk charged with the job of leading the search party.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
10/02/09
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Films that address faith and love as eloquently as this moving 2008 documentary are rare.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/02/09
Andrea Gronvall
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader
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The film is fascinating on every level -- as a portrait of a willing servant in a complex, powerful and inscrutable religious system and a feast of spectacular sights and unusual mundane events in a corner of the world rarely exposed to prying eyes.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
10/02/09
Greg Quill
Greg Quill
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even atheists may find their world rocked by Nati Baratz’s Unmistaken Child.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
08/14/09
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Who knew reincarnation could be such a lovely snooze?

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
07/31/09
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

[Director] Baratz doesn’t ask any of the obvious questions, preferring to observe uncritically, and if you can do the same, you may find Unmistaken Child worth seeing. I could not, and grew restless.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/23/09
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Director] Baratz's access to every stage of the process -- from Zopa's selection of a candidate to the testing of that candidate to the blessing of the Dalai Lama himself -- is phenomenal, almost indescribably privileged.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
07/16/09
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

You could argue that the film would be stronger if it explained more fully and asked more questions, yet “Unmistaken Child’’ stands as a window on a beautiful and mysterious world. The questions it leaves hanging are for us to untangle.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/16/09
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Baratz's work may not be the slickest, but he took a risk and followed through under arduous conditions to let an audience share in a mystical journey. The film itself is an act of faith.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
07/06/09
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Adorable, moving, bewildering, sad and, ultimately, peaceful.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/02/09
Dan Zak
Dan Zak
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A compelling documentary about events that followed the 2001 death of the revered Tibetan master Geshe Lama Kochog.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/26/09
Walter V. Addiego
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A rare, intimate look at Tibetan Buddhists' search for the reincarnation of a deceased Lama, this beautifully filmed documetary is an extraordinary spiritual travelog, with all the dramatic elements of an exotic, enthralling fantasy

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/22/09
Jennifer Merin
Jennifer Merin
About.com

A most intimate look at the recognition of a peasant child as a prophet. A masterpiece of understatement.

Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
06/15/09
Ron Wilkinson
Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics

Its privileged glimpse deep into unfamiliar spiritual territory has the strength of revelation.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
06/12/09
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unmistaken Child stands above most others in offering us an intimate look at Tibetan Buddhism in action, with no external commentary or narration.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
06/12/09
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Baratz’s apparent willingness to accept everything at face value papers over some of the more troubling aspects of Tenzin’s mission, but Unmistaken Child allows the mysteries of the process to be preserved without judgment.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
06/04/09
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

The story unfolds in Israeli director Nati Baratz's intriguing, beautifully filmed documentary Unmistaken Child, which records Tenzin Zopa's search and its aftermath.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
06/03/09
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The documentary stands as a visually candid and picturesque peek into one of the world’s most mysterious practices.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
06/03/09
Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee
Time Out New York
 
 
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