Murray State's Cinema International presents the 2008 Tibetan film Unmistaken Child this week. Austin Carter speaks with program director Dr. Thérèse St. Paul and Religious Studies Program Coordinator Dr. Matthew Robertson ahead of the screenings.
From the MSU Cinema International website:
"When a venerable monk dies, one of his young disciples is sent in search of his master's reincarnated spirit. This documentary follows his arduous, emotional quest far and wide to a remote village where he finds a three-year-old boy who seems to correspond to his master's characteristics.
Central to his documentary is Tenzin's devotion to his task as he must not only get the consent of the boy's parents but the approval of the Dalai Lama. A rare glimpse into life in the Himalayas (Nepal) where Buddhist monks from Tibet live in exile, and into an ancient spiritual process that even atheists may find fascinating."
"Lamas have a very critical role to play in society," Robertson begins. "They are thought to be people whose essence, whose very being is an awakening force in the cosmos. That means the presence of these individuals in these societies is the best chance societies have for taking steps towards the enlightenment that the Buddha originally preached in the 5th century B.C. Tibet has its own unique institutions and forms of going for this kind of enlightenment, but these lamas are absolutely critical to it. Without them, how are we to cultivate those qualities inside of us that are meant to lead us toward that awakening experience?"
"I saw [the movie] at the beginning of my journey of learning about Asian religious tradition," he continues. "It's a movie that will break your heart a little bit and raise your spirits and posit all kinds of really fascinating questions about who we are and what our purpose is in this world and how we move through it, what family is, things like this. Really just a fabulous movie. I hope many, many people come to see it."
Robertson outlines general themes of the movie, including crises of faith (both in a higher power or consciousness and oneself) and the complex ritual Tibetan monks use to determine if a child really is the reincarnated spirit of a lama. The film features divination exercises, familial dynamics, and the overarching question: how does an unenlightened individual identify enlightenment?
St. Paul poses a different, more skeptical perspective: "The conditions of life in the high Himalayas is really, really tough. These people live without electricity in very dark conditions. The attraction of being a monk, choosing to get out of this life of being a peasant, eking out of raising a family—the attraction is very strong. When you become a monk, you get fed. You don't have to work." Perhaps, St. Paul suggests, there is a temptation to lie about a child's reincarnated spirit in order for them to have a better life.
Robertson agrees, saying that throughout the film, "our doubt persists. The tension is really very present throughout the film. But when I think about, well, is this a false identification or not? Is this child mistaken or unmistaken as a reincarnated person? It makes me think about all the ways my identity, throughout my days, my weeks, is cued by my circumstances. I am guided toward choosing an identity that is the one that I had in my past life, say, a week or a year ago."
"There are parallels we can draw that open up this question of identity and that we choose identity as much as we are gifted it. The movie really brings all this to the fore, and I don't think there are answers—just deeper questions—and that makes it so much more fascinating," Roberston concludes.
MSU Cinema International presents Unmistaken Child on Saturday, November 5th, at 7:30 pm in the Curris Center Theater, located on the third floor of the Curris Center. Screenings are free and open to the public.
For more information on the Cinema International program, including how to donate and upcoming screenings, visit its website.
