Customer Reviews

A Zen Life

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This is an excellent film about Suzuki. The best parts of the film are the pieces of film of Suzuki here and there, including an unintentionally hilarious interview with Huston Smith (almost a parody of everything intellectual about the 1950's, a kind of pop American earnestness throughout!). There are also fine snippets of John Cage (my personal hero), three short moments with Thomas Merton, and interviews with eminent figures one has read about but never seen (Elsie Mitchell!!). There are one or two decisions that were probably unnecessary -- there are newsreel clips of Iwo Jima and so on -- would anyone who saw this film not have heard of Pearl Harbor? -- but they pass. A longer film (and a different film) might have lingered a bit on the controversy over Zen and World War II; I think it would have been interesting to say a bit more about the War Crimes Trials (which was one reason why some of the American participants were there); and the Hu Shih controversy was not exactly as sweet as it appears (there is a supplementary text included in which Hu Shih wildly denounces Suzuki as a Japanese spy! ). I think that the director might also have included a bit more about Suzuki's own enlightenment experiences -- the collection of written remembrances some years ago contains beautiful autobiographical material that someone might have read out.

But the film does an excellent job of giving a sense of how it was that this unassuming little man really did act as a vast bridge between East and West. It was particularly pleasant to have a discussion of his interest in Shin Buddhism, something many people don't know about.

Perhaps, as the film itself displays, the final quality of Suzuki is that unassuming personal magnetism that slowly takes you over.

I am largely in agreement with the first reviewer, "toronto." This is a good documentary that introduces you to the life of D.T. Suzuki. Interesting photos and footage, including some rarely seen material of Thomas Merton, are woven together in an interesting and aesthetically pleasing manner creating a "timeline" narrative of this explicator of Zen. However, it does have a documentary feel to it and sometimes it is a little plodding, so as a documentary it possesses little in the way of surprises in its style and presentation. There is some interesting bonus material of Huston Smith and Suzuki.

Content was good, but clearly avoided overt criticism of Suzuki. Notably, there is little discussion or insight into Suzuki's preference for Rinzai, and his seeming indifference toward the Soto school of Zen. His interest in Shin is nicely presented. I also found his bewilderment of Beat poets, who were largely attracted to Buddhism, amusing.

I was a bit put off by the price. It seems a little steep to me. If you are interested in the film, you might try renting it first before making a decision to purchase it.

This is a great film and testimony about the first steps of zen buddhism in the Western World. I highly recommend it.