A funky and freewheeling visit to one of India’s holiest festivals, “Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela” does not provide an in-depth look at Eastern spiritual life.
It does, however, capture a teeming event at ground level, and it introduces us to a gallery of gurus. If documentaries exist partly to show us places most of us never would have visited ourselves, this one succeeds.
The festival of Kumbh Mela has been happening every 12 years for the last couple of millennium or so. The event lasts for a month or more and attracts millions of pilgrims to Allahabad, at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers – where bathing on a particular day is considered especially holy. It’s the largest gathering of humans on the planet.
It is part religious festival, outdoor picnic, music concert, and an excuse for wild hucksterism. Some of the gurus exude wisdom and goodness, while others engage in practices that would not be out of place at the carnival sideshow.
There’s a man who has held his right arm up in the air for 20 years. “The only power I have is willpower,” he shrugs. Fair enough.
And there’s a woman who is buried for three days in a hole underground. It actually looks fairly comfortable – David Blaine has nothing to worry about.
One guru from Africa, with an enormous bowl embedded in his lower lip, has the wonderfully centered bearing of certain holy men who take the long view of life and death. It is also amazing how intelligible a person is with a bowl in his lower lip.
Of course there’s a guy who sits on a bed of nails, and another who ties his genitalia around a weight-bearing stick and … well, let’s just say the fellow with his arm in the air doesn’t seem so odd after all.
Filmmakers Maurizio Benazzo and Nick Day survey the scene with respect and open eyes. They have the good luck to run into an engaging young chap who acts as unofficial tour guide (and has a good eye for separating the true holy men from the poseurs). He also takes a shine to a young blond visiting the festival, giving the movie an extra layer of charm.
The Dalai Lama drops by for a visit, bringing a Buddhist message for the Hindu faithful. It’s pretty much a lovefest all the way around, and enough of that spirit comes across to make this an agreeable documentary for believers and nonbelievers alike.
“Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela” HHH
Funky: A freewheeling trip to Kumbh Mela, a huge Hindu festival that happens once every 12 years. Agreeable encounters with many different gurus liven up the event. (In Hindi and English with English subtitles.)
Rated: Not rated; probably R for nudity, subject matter.
Now showing: Varsity.
“Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela” HHH
Funky: A freewheeling trip to Kumbh Mela, a huge Hindu festival that happens once every 12 years. Agreeable encounters with many different gurus liven up the event. (In Hindi and English with English subtitles.)
Rated: Not rated; probably R for nudity, subject matter.
Now showing: Varsity.
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