Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Jimi-Bigbear It has been awhile since I last watched this film, but I've watched it several times from a standpoint that includes quite a lot of knowledge and direct experience of Ayurveda. Ayus is life and Veda is Knowledge - so Ayurveda is Knowledge or science of life. So called "modern" or "western" medicine is a relative newcomer - having really only been around for the past 150 years or so, while Ayurveda is thousands of years old. Even in the US there is still a LOT of traditional folk medicine, and increasingly Ayurveda is making inroads and being recognized as holistic and preventative and truly a system of health care - as opposed to "modern" medicine's fragmented (just look at the specialties) and disease care approach.Writer/director, Pan Nalin, did a masterful job of presenting India as the custodian of Ayurveda and covered a lot of ground - both literally and figuratively. Maybe the Indian Errol Morris, Pandya seems to have a good sense of letting the camera roll and his subjects explain what they are doing and why. Like a great shirodhara (warm oil dripped onto one's forehead - very relaxing), Nalin's film is like practical Ayurveda itself - simple, soothing, and economical. The tranquil score evokes another aspect of Vedic knowledge - Ghandharva Veda - the melodies of Nature - maybe the subject of a future Nalin documentary? With "western" medicine - disease care - becoming less affordable everyday, "western" drugs costing so much and having so many harmful side effects, and an epidemic of obesity in the US, this refreshing look at a simpler approach is quietly reassuring and shows us the path to integrating the best of western medicine with the time tested Knowledge of Life - Ayurveda, and hints that the time will come again when the local village doctor - the Vaidya - will be well paid by all the people in the village, but only for keeping them well. In ancient times this was the case. If the people became sick, the Vaidya would not even expect payment - much less ask for it.Pan Nalin's film is a great introduction to a deep well of knowledge. Help yourself to a refreshing drink of cool, sweet water. - Jimi

wissikul The film is a subtle gem -it invites you to discover nature and human nature with poetic images of ancient healing system known as AYURVEDA.I was curious when the film was running in cinema halls for more then a year in Spain; Then I could not hold back when I learnt that AYURVEDA completed record-breaking 20 month long continuous run in one cinema hall in Paris and while write this in September 2006 it still continues to play there...Thus when I had opportunity in Canada I rushed to see AYURVEDA.The film is very simple road movie, has no narration and shows straight forward encounter with healers/doctors/people across India, Greece & USA. The music, original score by Cyril Morin, is soothing and relaxing.The film is an eye-opener to health in general but also makes you think about the health of earth, water, fire, air... and the universe. Its all linked. What you pollute outside manifests inside your body and mind.Do not miss this film and try and see it in Cinema hall if you can -it has a meditative quality about it.Congratulation to the team behind AYURVEDA: ART OF BEING. We NEED more movies like that to make a world better place to live and let live.

Doug Galecawitz the film much like the alleged cures and treatments in the film is overall on the good side so long as you don't think too hard about any of it. i caught this film the other day while barely coming out of sleep and it's soothing tone was quite nice. but like the medicine in the film, all it does is soothe. When watched through the eyes of the western paradigm of skepticism the medicine in the film is obviously full of holes. The one medicine man in the film seems to have one miracle "cure all" root that he gives out to anybody regardless of what their condition is, and there is never any regard to how well it works, if at all. The tragedy is that if there were any medicinal qualities in any of these techniques and roots and herbs, there's little if any follow up to determine whether they work or not. The movie also makes the quiet assertion that western empirical medicine is a failure, which is quite backwards given the statistics on longevity in India vs The US. Of course all this doesn't say much about the movie which is quite harmless if viewed by a skeptical mind but can be considered dangerous by those easily fooled by the atavistic promises of charlatans. The film does work at getting a good look at how people live and die in the third world and as i said can be a somewhat peaceable film to watch in light of that. One point that i believe was lost in the film but could have been explored is how and why doctors in the west have such fallen status? One revered as healers, the modern doctor is usually regarded with fear more than anything else. IS fear the price we pay for knowledge and practical results??????

lutheranchick This documentary is at its best when it is simply showing the ayurvedic healers' offices and treatment preparation. There is no denying the grinding poverty in India and desperation of even their wealthier clients. However, as an argument for ayurvedic medicine in general, this film fails miserably. Although Indian clients mention having seen "aleopathic" doctors, those doctors are not interviewed, and we have to take the vague statements of their patients at face value-- "the doctor said there was no cure," "the doctor said it was cancer" etc. Well, "no cure" doesn't mean "no treatment," and what type of cancer exactly does the patient have? The film is at its most feeble when showing ayurvedic practice in America. There it is reduced, apparently, to the stunning suggestion that having a high powered Wall Street job can make your stomach hurt.