Review of Walk with Me (2017) by Greg R — 04 Jan 2018

I am writing this review as a way to set expectations for others seeing this film. I have read a few Thich Nhat Hanh books, meditate on my good days, and since I'm in SD I've even gone and done a couple walking meditations at the nearby Deer Park monastery. I'm not Buddhist but I get value from some of their practices.

So I was excited to see this film and waited several months for a showing in SD. The trailer is amazing - Cumberbatch narrating beautiful scenes around a Buddhist monastery and Thich Nhat Hanh doling out his sage wisdom. The trailer was clearly made by someone other than the director. The film itself is a disjointed collection of long un-narrated scenes with no explanation.. And every 15 minutes or so the disembodied voice of Cumberbatch would read a line or two from a Buddhist poem with footage from a thunderstorm or night sky playing. These poem scenes are the only 'narration' in the film.

Several minutes of the monks in a chow hall eating with no narration or explanation. Several minutes of monks walking through rain with no narration. Monks washing dishes. These are typical scenes in the film which are representative of the whole.

This is only the second film in my 40 years that I've walked out of. Luckily Star Wars was playing in the next theater so it wasn't a total loss. If you enjoy Thich Nhat Hanh your time is better spent doing a walking meditation or reading some passages from one of his books then to see this movie.