Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Eye_MD_B The takeway is awesome - not to fall for the many fake-Gurus out there, and I wish religious fanatics would see that they are just as naive - the difference only being that they were conditioned from childhood on.However - to lead on open-hearted people and then displaying them as fools to the whole world, in my eyes is immoral and the fact that he wasn't sued and no one did come forward to complain indicates that he deliberately planned to destroy a few people's reputations by having had them sign disclosure wavers beforehand.I feel sorry for the ones who put their heart into him and now will be laughed at for the rest of their lives.

FVMagic Kumaré eludes simple definitions. It lies somewhere between a documentary and reality TV. Director Vikram Gandhi is fed up with all the trendy gurus who he has found out to be exactly like any of us. He sets out to create a fake identity for himself as Sri Kumaré, a mystical holy man from India complete with the hilarious exaggerated Indian accent, big beard, long hair and all the other outward signs of a spiritual leader. He quickly finds loyal followers who are all too willing to embrace his status without really questioning anything. However, he himself makes some surprising discoveries and changes during this journey that at times seems very close to getting out of hand.I really like the handling of this very delicate subject matter. People confide in Kumaré blindly and many openly talk about their issues and private problems. Some of the stories are truly touching and heartbreaking. Still, you don't get the sense people are exploited. They come across as dangerously gullible but at the same time sincere and vulnerable. There are also hilarious moments when people do totally absurd things without realizing the ridiculousness of the situation.Kumaré makes you think and challenges easy answers. Yes, some of the people clearly are not rational at all, and yes, it's obvious all the "forces" and "powers" that people feel come from within themselves. But isn't that true for all religions? How is this fake guru different than any other guru - or any religious figure, for that matter? It makes it visible how painfully we crave for understanding and meaning in our lives. To feel we are worth something.The ending is brilliant and unexpectedly intense. It made me feel confused, awkward, compassionate - and other feelings for which I have no name to put on. Highly recommended film for everyone.

webmailtim What a Fascinating movie about the human condition,blah, blah, blah. So the reviews go - for people who arrogate themselves to believe that they're "in on it" and woe and behold the frailty of humankind to be taken in by charlatans. Well, physicians, Heal thyself! Kumare from Jersey is playing YOU as the patsy. Breathe deep his bogus mirror therapy. Because you're the sucker in the mirror and This was scripted from start to finish yet other reviewers like to believe that Kumare got carried away and painted himself into a corner with a fantasy that he took too far. No he didn't. It wasn't a moral crisis that he suffered when he found himself too far into his own game that he couldn't "reveal" himself in person and and sheepishly had to do it via video to his followers. The video "reveal" is for your sake *the viewer* and on purpose. Like the fools who had phallic symbols painted by this sadistic freak onto their faces yet still embrace him after he picked their spiritual pocket, foolish viewers give this a top rating. You really think he was to chicken too do a personal "reveal" in front of 2 dozen people? No, he was hunting the bigger game- the video audience.

Sharon C Thought I would add my own take on this movie since reviews are scattered. I understand the ethical dilemma with making a film like this, but I think the lesson learned far outweighs the negative impact of having participated in the movie.I thoroughly enjoyed watching this unfold. Someone faulted Vikram for not making the ruse feel planned enough- but I don't. I think the true sociopaths and manipulators of society probably have a naturally aggressive, charismatic drive which helps them exploit people, but I think that its probably normal for a genuinely good person to have to feel their way into an experiment like this and sort of be guided by the reactions and responses they receive. I felt that it added honesty to the experiment. Psychologists have conducted experiments on unknowing subjects to learn about a variety of topics- like how easy it is to get a person to torture another just because they are told to do so- the person believed they were inflicting pain on the "actor". Some stood their ground and refused to inflict pain, but others- well, they went along with it even though they were instructed to deliver more intense (but fake) electric shocks to some victim they could hear screaming. They were not told until after the experiment that the shocks were fake and the victim was an actor. To me, this movie is no different- it is another psychological experiment that I found fascinating.I never really got the sense that the followers were being mocked. I felt like all along he was admitting that the power to change was right inside of themselves but the followers own longing and need to find a "magic key" to unlock that power kept them in denial even when "Kumare" would be honest and frank about it with them- he even came right out and said "I am so fake I forget who I am sometimes" and this did not rattle the follower. I would have asked, "What do you mean?" But the fact that no one asked means they really didn't want to know. He never said that they needed him- all along he kept pointing them to their own selves. But people preferred believing, and maybe even needing, someone else to save them. And I felt that this was intended to be part of the learning experience of this movie and not a mockery. This is the entire psychological lesson gained from the test. The entire premise is about the ease of which you can lure people into a cult, or any religion for that matter. I certainly contemplated Jesus- another long haired, bearded philosopher who was a great speaker and could hold a crowd's attention. Jesus may have even fully believed everything he said. The entire population was awaiting a messiah, and many before him believed they were the awaited messiah- there were false alarms all the time. Jesus was a good speaker and he gained momentum and a following. He spoke messages that seemed directly opposite to the tone and direction of the Old Testament. Jesus taught love and forgiveness but he did not need to be crucified for people to learn to love and forgive other people. He only needed to be crucified so God himself would forgive people. All along, from the beginning, people could have been taught to love one another and forgive, but the Old Testament ordered punishment and death penalty to rule breakers- and those rule breakers were members of their own community:family, friends, and neighbors they knew all their lives. This tells me Jesus was not in alignment with the Old Testament. Jesus appears to be a guru with new age lessons for a people who were ordered to lack empathy for one another previously. The pressure and ethical dilemma began to build on Vikram because he bonded with the followers and became emotionally attached and I felt this added to the movie. I don't think this movie was made for the purpose of making money. I think the purpose was truly to explore the nature of people.