Little Buddha

Right now you can watch Little Buddha in the US on Kino Film Collection and Kanopy, and in the UK on Amazon Prime Video — and it holds up to as much attention as you give it. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. 450 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Watch it for Keanu Reeves — one of the stronger performances out there right now. Put it on tonight on Kino Film Collection and see for yourself.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Little Buddha earns its spot. Character-driven storytelling at its most effective — Little Buddha earns every emotional beat it goes for. After the death of Lama Dorje, Tibetan Buddhist monks find three children — one American and two Nepalese — who may be the rebirth of their great teacher. Keanu Reeves and Bridget Fonda lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1993. Little Buddha resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Little Buddha delivers. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Keanu Reeves's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.