Darshan, The Embrace

It's been at Real Art Ways all week (while I was in Chicago); tomorrow seems to be the last day (at 5:30 pm). Something made me check the RAW calendar tonight, thankfully. I'm pretty sure I will be there.

Darshan the Embrace Amma, one of India’s most famous “Mahatmas” or spiritual guides, is known internationally for her charitable donations, fight for peace and work with illiteracy. In 2002 she received the Gandhi-King Prize for her work on behalf of non-violence, joining a group of winners that include Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan. This intimate documentary by France-based filmmaker Jan Kounen chronicles Amma’s journey throughout India with her disciples. Over three decades, she has hugged more than 23 million people, imparting love and serenity through her touch, and giving comfort to those who have little hope to cling to. In 1979 she had only a handful of followers, and today she is the center of a massive charitable enterprise that builds houses for the homeless, feeds the hungry and runs a hospital and orphanage. People wait hours on line to hear her captivating speeches and line up a second time to get a hug from her. With elegant camerawork that encourages us to observe and meditate on the phenomenon, filmmaker Kounen demonstrates that, after all, 23 million people can’t be wrong. –Ricrad Peterson, Smith Rafael Film Center.