This movie is a snooze fest.
Which is unfortunate because the subject, Amma, is fascinating.
What director Jan Kounen appears to have tried is to provide a documentary about the life of Amma, a mahatma in India. However, it falls short somehow.
There are long periods of film showing the thousands of people who line up for hours just to be held briefly by Amma, known as “the hugging saint.”
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/ijHORji5Qv8" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]But there is precious little biography as well as barely any interview footage with Amma herself.
What the audience does learn is how Amma was different from most people even as a child. According to her family, she would give food away to the poor and starving even then.
There are also interviews with westerners who have decided to follow Amma and help her with her mission.
It appears that Kounen is attempting to capture the atmosphere in and around events featuring Amma but all he achieves is long boring sequences that frustrate the viewer.
The brief glimpse the audience sees of Amma as a child through interviews with her family are very interesting. More of that could have possibly saved this movie.
And again, the viewer never gets as close to Amma as one would expect. More on her take on her cult of personality would be worth hearing.
The subject herself, however, is portrayed beautifully. It is possible to see her inner light as she makes herself available to her ardent followers.
It’s too bad that it isn’t enough to save this film.
“Darshan: The Embrace” is available to rent.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]
