Product Details

• Region: All Regions
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00030KT62
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,199 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a movie made by people who never watch movies, October 5, 2005

By 

Selqet "Silky" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cup (DVD)

A true life story by and starring the people who lived it, a monastary of Tibetan buddhists in exile, and the movie is told like a Buddhist parable, without a Western style beginning or end. These are people unexposed to Western movies and television, and the intrusion of World Cup Soccer presents a peculiar problem as the youngest monks become sports fanatics. What happens when people who don't know movies, make a movie? Some truly original art, that's what happens. The movie is thought-provoking and funny, poignant and peaceful, and provides the best insight into some Oriental philosophy for the Occidental audience. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who 1) wants to see an unpredictable original movie, 2) is curious about Tibetan culture, 3)is interested in Buddhism, 4) has to teach children, 5)is a soccer fan (pick up Bend it Like Bekham too), or 6)likes to travel (many scenes are very beautiful). I think I should also warn you that this film is completely devoid of violence, sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, or Christianity. How many movies have you seen like that?

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming, February 27, 2005

By 

Swing King (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cup (DVD)

This movie is more than just a simple comedy. It's primary point is showing how Buddhism can find it's way in a fast changing world. The premise of the film might perhaps sound uneventful to people interested in more action packed cinema; it's about a Orgyen, a young Tibetan monk, and his unending love for televised soccer. Monasteries do not have televisions in them, so Orgyen and a few fellow monks occasionally sneak off grounds to watch the games. The World Cup is fast approaching, and enthusiasm grows and grows in the community. Will the boys be allowed to watch the World Cup on monastery grounds? I won't say. The humor in here is done very well, possessing a very clean & natural delivery. In spirit of not saying too much before you see it, I'll just say that the ending will touch you. We need more movies like this in the world really. Don't hesitate to get it, the DVD quality is excellent.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Featherweight Comedy About World Cup Fever....in Bhutan!, February 20, 2006

By 

Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cup (DVD)

This one is a discreet little charmer and apparently the first film ever produced in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, probably one of the world's most isolated countries and inevitably a high-priced destination for upscale yuppie travelers. Directed and written by first-time filmmaker Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (a.k.a. Khyentse Norbu), the third incarnation of a 19th-century lama, this featherweight 1999 family-oriented comedy is about the impact of cultural change to a semi-cloistered Buddhist monastery-in-exile in northern India. Paul Warren's colorful cinematography captures the images of a beautiful country, but the movie is far more enjoyable than a National Geographic-style travelogue.

The fact-based story centers on Orgyen, a soccer-obsessed 14 year-old boy living at the monastery. So caught up in World Cup fever during the summer of 1998, he sneaks sneak out of the monastery at night to catch satellite broadcasts of the semi-final matches in a neighboring village. Forbidden by the elders to continue his viewing in town, Orgyen and his friend Lodo uses all their wiles to get a satellite dish for the monastery much to the consternation of the abbot and his second-in-command preceptor. Time is of the essence since the TV needs to work in time for the final match between Brazil and the favorite of the monks, France.

What is refreshing is how the exotic locale lends itself to the comical hijinks without sacrificing the authenticity of the Buddhist culture portrayed. Norbu was able to coax the entire Chokling monastery to participate in the film, and the non-professional cast is perfectly decent delivering their obviously just-memorized lines of dialogue. Jamyang Lodro is particularly winning as Orgyen. It all reminds me a bit of the 1980 Coke bottle-from-heaven comedy, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" and also the second son's TV obsession in last year's Mongolian documentary, "The Story of the Weeping Camel". The visual quality on the DVD is excellent. There are no extras included.