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what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Blistering performances.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Usually I do not expect documentary movies to affect me emotionally, but this film was a good surprise. The director made a great job showing us the insights of Buddhist culture by an example of life and work of a monk called Khru Bah. Boxer in the past, Khru Bah now dedicated his life in religion and helping orphan children by taking them in the monastery and teaching Buddhist religious traditions. I especially liked the way the director focused on children's past, revealing their stories. Most of Khru Bah's followers experienced difficulties in their lives - almost everyone either lost their parents or could no longer be raised and supported by them, but the monk's work gave these children a chance for a better future. Living in the Golden Horse monastery, these children are provided with basic self-care supplies and taught to follow Buddhist customs. Sure, it was not easy for them to adjust to a new place and get along with new people, but Khru Bah and nun's patience and wiliness to help soon gained children's trust. The director provides us with a good opportunity to know what a real life in the monastery looks like. Khru Bah is an example for his pupils to follow, and his actions, his way of solving different kinds of conflicts taking place affect children's view on life, showing them the importance of compassion and support. Thus, we could say that the monastery is like a new home for all these children, and Khru Bah is playing a role of the father, even giving them new names and being strict when the situation asks for it. The setting takes place in the Golden Triangle, which is a border territory in the Northern Thailand known for drug dealing. And again here is something I did not expect to see in the movie - it is a way Khru Bah emphasises the danger of drugs and importance of avoiding them. "How can your village be strong when your bodies are weak and addicted to drugs?", he asks from the citizens of one of the villages they visit. It can be seen that people respect him as they listen to his speech and advice. And when the monk with his pupils start their day visiting villages, the citizens make contributions in the form of food and other necessary stuff, as they believe that by doing this they would improve their karma. Also as Khru Bah and his pupils often move in dangerous regions it is important for children to be able to stand for themselves, so the monk teaches them how to do boxing using his own past experience. I think that this is an important scene to point out because it contradicts the general stereotype about Buddhism being a non-violent religion. Khru Bah shows that it is possible to follow Buddhist religious traditions and develop your physical strength at the same time. And the Buddha himself demonstrated after his experiencing of asceticism that a weak body is no good for the enlightenment. So Khru Bah emphasises the importance of both body purity and strength and clear mind. So the movie was both informative and interesting, and I personally enjoyed watching it. The work of Khru Bah and nun Khun Ead is very important, in my opinion, because they not only teach young children to follow Buddhist religious traditions but most importantly provide a good example of sympathy and compassion and give these children an opportunity for a good life.

Frankly speaking, at first I was somewhat skeptical about the Dutch film with the word "Buddha" in its title, however, after watching it, my opinion completely changed. It may not be the most precise representation of Buddhist monks' lifestyle, but it certainly gives us a good insight on it. The first thing that attracted my attention was the fact that events of this documentary take place on the border of Thailand, Burma and Laos- the area that is called the "Golden Triangle'. Since this region is infamous for its history of production and trade in opium, I was interested to see to what extent the film would be able to show the reality of situation faced by people living there. Though it was not the primary goal of the movie to cause sympathy, it certainly succeeded to provoke my emotions. Harsh living conditions of villagers were portrayed pretty accurately, but what affected me more were children and, of course, Khru Bah hilmself. As we are shown, some children initially did not want to go to the monastery, I myself even felt sorry for Pan Sean who had to leave his family. However, The Golden Horse monastery is more than a place where monks live and practice religion - it is primarily home for many people. As time passes, we can definitely see how the care children receive in the monastery begins to change them, they even begin to refer to Khru Bah as to their father. Considering the fact that relationships between monks in the monastery have to be neutral, it appeared somewhat controversial at the beginning. But now, after watching the documentary fully, I can say that this film's goal is not to simply represent certain aspect of religion- it is to represent humaneness and love. As Khru Bah said, this type of love is pretty tough, it's not weak. Through discipline he wants to make these children strong, that's why sometimes he has to be firm. That is probably one of the main reasons why his novices practice Thai boxing. This phenomenon also actually seemed quite confusing to me since I did not associate Buddhist monks with such type of sport. However, it indicates that documentary succeeded to once again break the stereotype that Buddhism is pacifist religion. I found the scene of rebuilding of the temple quite imposing, more particularly, I was impressed by Khun Ead. At first glance the fragile nun could efficiently suppress conflict that almost turned into a fight among young volunteers from the village. Even though Khru Bah first noticed the discord, it was Khun Ead who carried out "educational work" most part of the time. Overall, watching Suk, Pan Saen and other boys growing up, gaining experience and socializing was pleasurable and refreshing. At the beginning I had a feeling that this was going to be a very tough film that would show mostly difficulties that children and the monk has to overcome every day in order to survive. Indeed, this suggestion was not fully wrong, however, contrary to my expectations, at the end I found myself in a really good mood. Doubtlessly, people like Khru Bah should be depicted in media to show their good deeds and promote such kind of behavior among others. He and his novices reminded me that we should appreciate what we have and left me with the thought that happiness can be achieved even in such hard and sometimes dangerous conditions.

Excellent documentary about a man, Phra Kru Ba Neua Chai, that used to be a professional Thai kick boxer, but did not find the career rewarding and became a Thai Buddhist monk instead. After a close friend of his dies he realizes his kick boxing career is not truly fulfilling so he abruptly stops his professional career and starts meditating to learn what it is he should be doing with his life. He decides on becoming a monk and opens a monastery high up in the hills along the Thai Burma border. This monastery is called Golden Horse Monastery and becomes a safe haven for orphaned boys from the surrounding villages. Many of these villages are along the route of drug smugglers so the villagers are often abused and scared into helping the drug war lords. Phra Kru Ba uses his kick boxing experience to train the boys in his orphanage to defend themselves only if needed and to help build the boys self confidence. The monastery started receiving donated horses being saved from slaughter houses, so these are used as well to teach the boys equestrian skills and how to care for another living creature. The work of this one single monk is to be commended and the film does an excellent job of telling a great story without imposing any commentary. The monk is not a traditional monk, but he clearly states he is helping the boys first, and a monk second, so a mix of skills are used to teach the boys life lessons. I am sure some Buddhist monks would cringe at some of Phra Kru Ba's techniques; however I am just as sure that they are the right techniques needed in such a tough environment. He is teaching these young boys how to be responsible and respectful, most of which came to him with zero life skills. They are learning life lessons that they would not have received if left alone in their villages. Some boys only stay a few weeks and return home while other boys stay for years. Some boys decide to become novice monks and are taught how to meditate and care for each other. Each novice is given a horse to care for and each novice is also taught how to teach the newest novice. By being assigned the task of teaching the newest novice how to train and how to care for a horse they themselves are learning they have these skills. You can see the confidence grow within these boys in a very short window of time and it is a beautiful experience to witness. The stories that unfold in this documentary are heart warming and honest. A great must see film.

Buddha's Lost Children manages to suck you right into the lives of its main characters. Director Verkerk and cameraman Heijnen were able to enter the "realm" of monk Phra Khru Bah and film him and his novices skin close. If you think all Buddhist monks spend their days meditating and worshipping, you'll get a refreshing insight into a more up-to-date version: this Thai counterpart of the Ratcatcher-of- Hamelin-on-horseback has a full time job dedicated to offering poor boys a future away from poverty, drugs and violence. The monk is the kind of father children are drawn to, admire and fear at the same time. A parent they'll worship once they're grown. The relationship between the monk and his right-hand-nun is one of utter respect and dedication. Even under the most difficult circumstances, their synergy make things happen. Although less featured in the film, the unconventional nun seems to be at least as important to the boys as the monk is.