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Amongst White Clouds
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price:
$24.95
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$22.49
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Manufacturer: Festival Media
Starring: Chinese Buddhist hermit monks
Directed By: Edward A. Burger
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Binding: DVD
EAN: 0857330001067
Format: NTSC
Label: Festival Media
Manufacturer: Festival Media
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Festival Media
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2007-06-26
Running Time: 86
Studio: Festival Media
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Editorial Reviews:
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An unforgettable journey into the hidden tradition of China's Buddhist hermit monks Amongst White Clouds is an intimate insider's look at students and masters living in scattered retreats dotting China's Zhongnan Mountain range. These peaks have reputedly been home to recluses since the time of the Yellow Emperor, some five thousand years ago. It was widely thought that the tradition was all but wiped out, but this film emphatically and beautifully shows us otherwise. One of only a few foreigners to have lived and studied with these elusive practitioners, American director Edward Burger is able, with humor and compassion, to present their tradition, their wisdom, and the hardship and joy of their everyday lives among the clouds. Filmed on location in China Written and Directed by Edward Burger Produced by Chad Pankewitz A Cosmos Pictures Production Official Selection: Mill Valley Film Festival, Taos Mountain Film Festival, Denver Starz Film Festival, True/False Film Festival, Maui Film Festival, Santa Fe Film Festival, Tahoe/Reno Film Festival, Mt. Shasta International Film Festival
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Extremely disappointing
Comment: I was hoping to be enchanted and enthralled by "Amongst White Clouds",
given the existing reviews. Perhaps I was expecting something of the
same kind of ilk as "Into Great Silence", the documentary about the
Carthusian solitaries of the Grande Chartreuse. Maybe my expectations
were therefore much too high. But instead I found "Amongst White Clouds"
to be extremely disappointing, conveying relatively little about the
lives and inner lives of the hermit monks. It may be that Zen (or
strictly Ch'an) Buddhist hermits are not the best subjects for a
documentary, but the oblique references to "practice" without further
explanation or explication convey nothing to the general viewer. If
Zen is the path and not the destination, then we must at least know
that there is a finger being pointed...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amongst White Clouds
Comment: I foud this to be one of the best esoteric spiritual DVDs I have seen. It covers a very undercovered anbd historically significant subject. I enjoyed the DVD and found it quite informative; I can only wish I had seen it years ago, but we see things apparently when we are prepared to do so.
Respectfully submitted,
tbass
Customer Rating:
Summary: Among the hermits: where cameras never go
Comment: Amongst White Clouds is an amazing document of the human adventure revealed not only in it's principle subject, but also in the making of the film.
First-time American director Edward A. Burger went to India in the late 90's to study Buddhism but found a greater connection to China. A book about Buddhist hermits pulled from an Indian monastery library led him north in search of an ancient way of life. Arriving in Beijing, he studied Chinese and began asking around for contacts that could introduce him to a mountain meditator. He ended up in the Zhongnan range of Shaanxi Province, where he lived and practiced for four years with one of these hermit masters. In 2003 he took a small film crew into the mountains to interview half a dozen of these practitioners and document their lives.
What comes across clearly in the interviews is that all of these men and one woman are serious about perfecting themselves, revealing their true natures and escaping from the suffering of mundane reality. What isn't always clear, and what many refuse to discuss, is their motivation for removing themselves from society and monastic communities. Besides footage of fetching water, working in the garden, or working on their huts, there is very little film of actual spiritual practice, no tantric rituals, no sitting zazen, no chanting of mantras. The recluses exhibit a few noticeable differences. Some live alone, while others reside in pairs or small groups. Some have electricity and running water. Others lead sparser lives, for example refusing to accept offerings of food. But still, we don't really get any idea of what kind of practices these hermits engage in - do they meditate most of the day? On what? Do they copy sutras? Recite mantras or the names of the Buddhas?
The most interesting questions are left unasked. How is the daily life of a mountain recluse - which consists in meditating, working around the hut, preparing the day's meals, washing, and perhaps a little study - different from the life of a village lay practitioner? What exactly is "the practice" and why is it necessary to isolate oneself from society in order to do it? Once realized, what then? Is there any obligation to return to society, or is "practice" an excuse to escape from the pressures of living with other people?
Despite the lack of probing questions, this remains a film worth watching for the light it shines on a little documented corner of the human experience.
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Customer Rating:
Summary: amazing movie
Comment: This DVD is amazing. It opens with the young man who has a huge love for China and just starts out wanting to see the country and learn the language. He then takes you to the most beautiful areas. The monks and people he gets to visit have huge spirit. You can see it in their faces and just how spirit comes from them.
So worth watching and seeing the young man grow over this time period.
thank you to the movie maker. just amazing. I have watched it over many times but do suggest you watch it first with the sub titles underneath to hear what all is going on. Then just watch it for the country side then for the people.
I have started to loan out the DVD and have many more of my friends wanting to see it
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best Buddhist film I have seen
Comment: I just viewed this film in a local theater. I plan to purchase the DVD and pass it on to others. The hermit monks in this video are authentic and some or all of them are very, very far along the path to enlightenment. The close-ups of their faces, their eyes, the clear translation of what they say, their openness, the quiet peace of the mountains in which they live, the attention to small detail - everything about this film exudes an awareness of a deeply spiritual reality which is at the heart of Buddhist practice. This one is the real mccoy.
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