Karen, Colin, and I were looking for a replay of the Pacers/Golden State game, but couldn’t find it, so instead spent Saturday afternoon watching an unusual film, Unmistaken Child.
I’m not sure how it got ordered from Netflix, but it was a gem of cinematography, landscape, and quiet spirit. A documentary, it followed the journey of a Tibetan monk, Tenzin Zopa, as he searched to find the child into whom his master, Lama Konshog, had been reincarnated. Tenzin Zopa speaks English, and describes movingly his fears and hesitations upon being given this assignment.
The plot line of this hour and 42-minute film by Nati Baratz couldn’t be simpler. Following certain signs and portents from the funeral pyre of Lama Konshog, Tenzin Zopa explores the Himalayan valley where both he and his master spent much of their lives. We visit the lama’s old retreat, in ruins now but still adrift in the flowers he planted. Tenzin Zopa calls on a number of families with one- to two-year-olds, to see if any of the children react to the relics of the deceased lama.
At length he finds the “unmistaken child,” who must then be tested by monks higher in the chain and eventually by the Dalai Lama himself, who approves Tensin Zopa’s choice. This is surely one of the few films in which the Dalai Lama plays a cameo role. We tend to think of him as an international figure; it’s fascinating to see him dealing with the questions and concerns of his religion and its followers.
The mountain scenery is breath-taking, the people fascinating and often beautiful. The reincarnated lama is both an ordinary (and delightful) little boy and a preternaturally wise child, who succeeds in persuading the viewer that he could indeed have been a beloved lama in a previous life. The camera catches some amazing things, including the emotions of the child’s mother as she makes the decision to give up her little boy to the priesthood.
Tenzin Zopa is transfigured, from the hesitant and grieving disciple of the old master to the joyful follower of his reincarnation. Tenzin has one of the most beautiful faces (and the most beautiful eyes) of anyone I’ve seen on film.
There are strange moments of East and West intermixed. People fly around Nepal in helicopters. The new lama’s father wears a “U.S. Polo Team” T-shirt.
The whole film is modest and clearly made with love. To take a line from a recent blog, it says something about what it means to be human.
