Customer Reviews

Enlighten Up! DVD

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been waiting to see Enlighten up! for a while. It was sadly not worth the wait. The movie promises us to show the benefits and spiritual growth of a newbie to Yoga on a half year intensive yoga trek.

What we get is Nick who seems to have been picked for looks rather than personality walking around in a confused state (but looking good). We are then whizzed around the New York and then the globe looking for said enlightenment via yoga. Nick's mumbling and increasingly tightlippedness seems to lead to tensions as the filmmaker tries to salvage things. Time lines get lost and there is no indication as to how much yoga is being done or where Nick is at apart from the odd 'dunno' here and there.

The real problem here is the film maker, she asks shallow questions that are answered in a 'yes' or 'no' has no real structure to the movie or the yoga practices. She parades a few old friends that have a limited grasp on reality. My favourite was in Hawaii where Nick was given a massage so rough that the point 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' sprang to mind.

A wonderful idea of a movie is shallow and grossly flawed, in short, a watch once experience of a few interesting and colourful characters from the world of yoga but raises more question than it answers.

For some reason, I feel like I should start with the conclusions:

He does not achieve enlightenment. He does not experience any great philosophical realizations. He does not become a great yogi. He does not become a lifelong yoga practitioner. I do think Yoga changed his life, but I am not sure if he would agree with me.

Kate is a documentary filmmaker. She picks Nick, an out of work journalist as her subject. The purpose is to follow Nick as he explores the world of Yoga. Nick starts out visiting several yoga studios in NYC. He spends time with Gannon and Life of Jivamukti. He travels to Santa Monica, where he works out with DDP (Diamond Dallas Page), the former professional wrestler who created YRG (Yoga for Regular Guys). He goes to India where he meets BKS Iyengar and the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. He goes on to meet several Indian Yogis & Guruswho are NOT into the physical yoga, but more into the spiritual(such as devotion - Bhakti) aspects of the practice.

He asks a lot of questions and listens to the answers. I do not think he's always satisfied with the answers he gets.

He returns home.

I must admit that I was prepared to like this film before I saw it. I liked the interviews with Iyengar, Jois, Page, and all of the other Yogis in the film. I would have been very happy just to have seen that.

I enjoyed the film very much. One of the things that made it interesting was the interplay between Kate and Nick. There are some serious differences between them. Nick is looking for proof. Kate's standards are different. I think she's looking for something more 'serious,' more overtly spiritual. At first, Nick is looking for something quantifiable, but then as his inquiry takes on deeper dimensions, it becomes somewhat ineffable. I'm not sure if he ever really knows exactly what he's looking for, but somehow I think he'd know it when he finds it.

This is not as much a 're-search' film as a 'they-search' film. Nick and Kate are searching for something that is very difficult to define. Somewhere in the process they begin to realize that as they learn more, their definition of what they are searching for is changing, and it is going in somewhat different directions.

In a more scientific paradigm, a project like this was doomed to failure - the researchers aren't even sure of what they are looking for. In a more humanistic view, the project could not help but succeed - They wanted to record a human experiencing growth and change. They wanted to record the process honestly.

They were searching for a Yoga that was a vehicle for change, and they found it. They change was not what they expected, but it was nonetheless genuine.

Kate deserves a lot of credit. She shows everything. She does not hold back when this becomes frustrating, and she follows the project even when it starts to go out of control. Her honesty and courage really gave this project meaning.

Nick also deserves a lot of credit. He follows his quest where it takes him, and he is willing to put up with a lot of stuff, both physically and emotionally, to find a truth he can barely define; one that he freely admits he may not understand.

I love yoga. I teach yoga. I showed this to some of my friends who are also into yoga. Some liked it and some didn't. Most liked the interviews - patricularly with Jois and Iyengar.

Even if you don't like yoga, this is a fascinating film.

I gave this a four - as opposed to a five, for two reasons.

One, Since Kate was a part of this film, I would liked to have seen more of the discussion between her and Nick on film. She clearly is a major part of the inquiry. I would like to have heard her voicing her opinion more, and discussing what Yoga means to her -
Perhaps not with Nick - I think she did not want to influence his inquiry, but just to understand her better.

The second is more material - because I would really liked to have had some more 'extras.' In particular, more of interviews with many of the Yogis and teachers shown. Some of the little pieces of Yee, Gannon and Life, etc., are really fascinating. I would have really loved to have seen more.

Still, this is a fascinating film, and if you like yoga, travel films, or just interesting movies about real people, this is a great film.

This movie seemed pretty interesting at the start of the film, but the plot never really goes anywhere. Without going into extreme detail, this movie never takes off because the subject of the film is just too clueless to be given the mission he is in this documentary. This movie could have been really good and useful if the subject of the film was educated enough to at least ask the right questions when given the oppritunity. Imagine a film about relativity with Einstein being interviewed by a 6th grader. The coverage of the topic wouldn't do the subject of science or the man Einstein justice,obviously not because they are not worthy.
With that said, you get a peek at how out of touch average folk like the subject is with these subjects. Which I myself find interesting, that is why people can't understand certain subjects.
This DVD's better than a network television show, but you won't watch more than once.

I enjoyed the film. Now he claims not to have changed his life. But take a look at him at the beginning of the film and at the end - he's a bit mellower and more sure of himself at the end. Not night and day but it is there.

Part of the fun of the film is the director trying to work out her own life through the guy. Her "Are you there yet, are you there yet, are you there yet"? Well, that makes anyone tense. And it is good to know that by streching, twisting, wrenching you are probably not going to become Enlightened. Most Hindus I know find a one year journey to Enlightenment laughable. Especially if you expect to get there by standing on your head.

Pros: Nick seems like a great guy. He's handsome, honest and willing. The director is interesting and she realizes in the course of the film how much she is bringing her own life to bear on him. You get to meet some great teachers. And the conclusion is honest.

Cons: Most Hindus view the hatha yoga crowd as on the wrong path. Hatha is largely a Western thing, where Westerners are trying to make something spiritual physical. See the problem? When I go to a hatha yoga class I'm often annoyed by the ignorance of the teacher with the philosophy. Some 26 or 36 year old stuck on how their body looks, trying to tell me that standing on my head will save my soul! They will misquote Patanjali who really doesn't talk about Hatha at all and can't quote the Gita at all, at least in what I've experienced.

If you read, just say the Bhagava Gita, there are four yogas and hatha is not one of them. "Yoga" means union in sanskrit. No one mentions this in the film. Yes, the film gives many definitions, most of them just off the mark. It's suppose to mean union with God. What is God? God is the sum total of everything in the universe, seen and unseen. So, for a Hindu, of course God exists. You are standing on it. Do the wrong thing and you will be hit by it - literally. For the vast majority of people this is subtle realization (everything is God) and takes years to deepen.

How do you unite? Through the four yogas: 1. Karma; do good things for others. 2. Knowledge; read and think about what connects, 3. bhakti; be devoted to an ideal, what you are attracted to is usually best; and 4: raja; meditate. You can do one or all of these. What's maddening and great is within each of these flows there are hundreds or millions of different paths. But just as in digging a well, you are more likely to hit something useful if you stop and dig in one spot. The film states that bhakti is yoga and leaves out the others, so frankly, I wondered if the director even knew her subject. Maybe that is why she is so frustrated.

If you want to work out physical tension, tone up your body, and be a more mellow person physically, hatha yoga helps. I do it. But if you want spiritual advancement do the real yogas. All religions have these, pick up the spiritual books that interest you, find a teacher that you are comfortable with (preferably alive!), meditate (pray), and do nice things just for the sake of being nice - and then you will be doing yoga and your life will change. But slowly.

How about a film that takes four non-spiritual people (you will quickly find that there is no such thing, just degrees) and have them do one year of spiritual journey, working their religion.

This is the story of Kate, a documentary filmmaker who is seeking to prove the correlation between hatha yoga and enlightenment by converting a beginning yoga student, Nick, to her ideology. Both Kate and Nick are highly unlikable (Kate seems pretentious and pushy while Nick is a stubborn child set in his ways) and neither achieve any of the goals they set out to accomplish (not to mention enlightenment) at the beginning of the film.

This films only saving grace are the wonderful commentaries from Iyengar, Dharma Mittra, Jois, Gannon/Life, and Shyamdas! I truly loved hearing their responses to Nick's questions!

This is a well put together film that exposes the viewer to a wide range of yoga styles and teachers. It provides several very insightful moments, and strips away a lot of the mysteries or fallacies that can cloud peoples' ideas of what "yoga" is all about. It's about connecting, and the film does a good job of showing how that can happen for many different people under different cultural circumstances. I'd have to believe that any serious (or even semi-serious) yoga practioner will enjoy it. Those unfamiliar with yoga practice are probably not going to leap into that world based on what they see here.

I loved this film. Exactly the same journey I would like to go on (am on) exploring the many faces of yoga. Just saved me a lot of time and money. I thought it was well researched, informative, funny and insightful. Great.

This film hasn't gotten the distribution it deserves... really interesting/honest look into the whacky world of modern yoga with a compelling narrative story as well. For yoga people, it's really fascinating.

Yes, we know yoga is mired in the culture of narcissism and we also know that it's hard to differentiate between what's authentic and bogus as everyone trys to jump onto the yoga bandwagon. I'm giving this 4 stars because it is a well done documentary and because I was pleasantly surprised to see Ana Brett & Ravi Singh,two of my favorite yoga teachers, however briefly. I was a bit put off by the flippancy with which Nick approached his yoga adventure and by the fact that this film is as much expose as it is a celebration of yoga. In fact, I feel it's disengenuous to list this in the yoga category of DVDs, when it's really not that uplifting. No one gets transformed or inspired in this journey. It leaves you with the feeling that the jury is still out with regard to whether the whole yoga movement has validity or not. Just for the record,I practice yoga just about every day, and it has literally transformed my life. My advice is, don't waste your time on a documentary which makes yoga seem a bit silly, and buy a yoga DVD to workout with instead. Get down on the floor and give it a try. That's what it's all about!

Yoga-practicing filmmaker Kate follows humanist and religious skeptic Nick as he spends half a year practicing yoga and exploring it by traveling across the United States and around the world learning from various teachers, crackpots, and yogis. Kate seeks to convert Nick to her religious worldview. Nick doesn't expect enlightenment or any life-changing experiences, but he is open-minded and eager to explore. Ultimately Kate is frustrated that Nick doesn't come to see things the way she does. Nick is changed subtly by his experiences but comes out of the experience with no answers and no dramatic conversion experience. He is still a skeptic, and Kate is still a believer. But both change subtly, and I think the viewer experiences life and grows with them.

I find it interesting that no one can say definitively what yoga is. Kate and Nick interview and practice with a wide variety of teachers: an ex-wrestler and others for whom yoga is primarily a physical exercise, those who focus on making the mind and body healthier, certifiable new age crackpots with theories of numerology and enlightenment, those for whom yoga is a humanistic, zen-like spiritual practice, and Indian yogis for whom yoga is about a relationship with God and the physical exercise aspect of yoga is almost unheard of. If you are a skeptic (as am I) I suspect you will open up to the awareness that not all yoga practitioners are irrational people who use incomprehensible language and some might actually have some valuable experience and insight to offer a serious seeker. If you are a believer in yoga I suspect that this film will help you to recognize and identify various kinds of yoga and make you realize that some kinds may be more respectable and believable than others. Ultimately though I think this is a film about a willingness to be open to new experiences and to be open to having honest, respectful dialogue with people of different religious beliefs.

Although the filmmaker hoped the film would convince more people to practice yoga I think it actually serves to promote both a healthy skepticism and a respectful awareness of people with different beliefs. I fear that my review does not do this film justice. If you are a religious skeptic or a religious seeker (or preferably both as I am) than I strongly encourage you to see this film.