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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Darshan, The Embrace
IFC Films


9.3

based on 12 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 6 votes
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

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 won the Gandhi King Prize for her work, joining a prestigious group of winners that include, Nelson Mandela and Khofi Annan. This film is a chronicle of her journey throughout India, traveling with her inner circle to visit with her disciples. (IFC Films)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	Manuel De La Roche Jan Kounen
DIRECTED BY:	Jan Kounen
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 14, 2006 Theatrical: July 26, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	93 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France / Germany / Japan
LANGUAGE(S):	English / French / Malayalam (with English subtitles)

Original title "Darshan: L'étreinte"

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TV Guide Ken Fox

Sebastien Pentecouteau's startlingly beautiful cinematography lends the film a dreamlike quality and perfectly suits Kounen's mystical subject matter.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

Movies about gurus generally fail to capture the charisma of their subjects. French director Jan Kounen's documentary on Amma, India's hugging saint, who allegedly has given restorative embraces to more than 45 million supplicants, is no exception.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Jan Kounen, the maker of Darshan, is a French director with flashy credentials, including music videos, commercials, horror shorts, violent gangster movies ("Dobermann") and offbeat westerns ("Blueberry").

Variety Lisa Nesselson

Docu's pace will be a little too meditative for many, but the rigorous, sinewy lensing will have Hypnotic power on those so inclined.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

Filling our heads with pretty pictures and not much else, Darshan: The Embrace is likely to leave audiences enchanted but unenlightened.

San Francisco Chronicle John McMurtrie

A loving if fawning documentary.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

According to several sojourners who speak in the film, Amma is the embodiment of love. And according to her website, it's her religion, too.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

Scenes of pageantry and mass prayer show that thousands respond to her charisma, but Kounen gives little insight why; aside from Amma's belief that creator and creation are one, her religious tenets remain a mystery.

LA Weekly Tim Grierson

Unless you're already a true believer, Amma comes across in Darshan as a perfect angel, a frustrating enigma and a rather dull cinematic subject.

Los Angeles Times John Anderson

While Amma's teachings of love, inner peace and Karma, or action, resonate in the film -- obviously, Amma is a woman called to God -- her background remains pretty much a mystery. Less National Geographic and more personal history would have added a dimension to "Darshan."

New York Post V.A. Musetto

When it comes to magnetism, the Rolling Stones have nothing on Amma, the Indian mahatma ("spiritual guide") chronicled in Jan Kounen's handsomely photographed but one-sided documentary.

Village Voice Ben Kenigsberg

Werner Herzog's "Wheel of Time" was, in a sense, the Buddhist equivalent of this film, as well as a more illuminating look at the power and transience of ritual.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ellen J. gave it a7:
Not a great documentary, but a "must see" for anyone who has been hugged by Ammachi and would like to imagine what it would be like to be in India with her. So much more could be have been said about the inner life of her devotees and their experiences with her.

Ron M. gave it a10:
This film is simply amazing! I would take any number of friends to view it. It's a piece of heaven on earth! Thank you!

Ferenc S. gave it a10:
Great visuals, however the story could have gone more in depth about what Amma and the Darshan(or the Embrace) really is doing to people and how it effects their lives so positively. These people could tell so many touching stories. Also her life-story is not much explained, it would be worth a movie by itself.

Millen M. gave it a10:
This movie is visually stunning and deeply moving. There is little dialogue as the subject matter, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi defies mental constructs and intellectualism. Those who are meant to be moved, will definitely be. Have a look at the charming face of love and compassion.

Victor M. gave it a10:
An unsual, but very important film about one of the greatest workers for peace of our time.

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Darshan, The Embrace IFC Films

Darshan, The Embrace
IFC Films