Rencontres avec des hommes remarquables

Based on the autobiographical book of the same name, Peter Brooks' Meetings With Remarkable Men is the story of the early years of Russian philosopher and magician George Gurdjieff and the people that led him to become a spiritual seeker and an inspiration to devoted followers around the world. Filmed in the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan, a Russian Prince (Terrence Stamp) directs Gurdjieff (Dragan Maksimovic) and a group of seekers to search for the teachings of an ancient Russian brotherhood called the Sarmound. The adventure leads them through the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas to a monastery where Gurdjieff learns self-expression through dancing and body movement, a technique he taught his followers many years later.

If enlightenment means anything, it means to "lighten up", but this bio-pic of Gurdjieff's coming of age is heavy and significant, reducing the life of a man of exuberance to ponderous banality. The characters walk zombie-like through their lines, never allowing any hint of joy in being alive and the stilted dialogue sounds like a cross between the spiritual kitsch of Lost Horizon and Star Wars. Filming this outstanding book, I'm afraid, requires a visionary who is able to convey its meaning with suggestion, poetry, and a touch of cinematic magic -- sadly lacking here.

It is unusual to even see a film being made about this kind of subject matter. Gurdjieff is an important figure in the history of religion, and this film is interesting in that it not only has a performance by Terrance Stamp in it, but also the fact that the Sufi dancing in it is authentic, as far as I am aware. Also, as far as I am aware, this is the only time that anyone in the outside world has ever been allowed to observe this form of sacred dance that the Sufis have been using for thousands of years. Additionally, the meetings that he has with some of the individuals who are spiritually advanced are handled intelligently and realistically. A must for anyone on the spiritual path.

Gurdjieff is such an intriguing character- a Greek-Armenian wanderer turned mystic- whose stories combine travelogue, religion, mysticism, and sci-fi; with a Tai-Chi like system of exercise; and rather rigourous ritual structure (not portrayed in the film, but approaching the tactics of Scientology)...to form a full blown cult of personality, that would go on to influence, even, presidents.

The story here- taken from Gurdjieff's book of the same name, about his travels, and the men he would meet on his path toward enlightenment- starts with a young grifter in Armenia, who gets by hustling with his friends...before he meets an old Dervish priest, with a mysterious parchment that a Russian prince had paid thousands of dollars to copy.

This takes him away from his friends, and sets him on a path that will take him to far off distant places, where he will meet many renown men.

Mainly, those in the Dervish community, on who- the film suggests- his system was based and developed from.

Though, many of the tactics shown are actually "The Movements" developed by Gurdjieff, himself...particularly those portrayed in the group scenes in the school.

All of this ties in with Gurdjieff's cult having a sort of gnostic basis, grounded in Zoroastrianism.

While the film is slow paced, it's also very intriguing - having been designed to take you through Gurdjieff's backstory (as he tells it, of course) in a very clear and straight forward way.

I say "or course", above, because Gurdjieff was basically a fraud on par with Castaneda himself...just making this crap up, the same way Castaneda did with Don Juan.

Either way, however, the scenery is amazing...and Brook uses alot of extras to create "big" scenes- which really set the tone of the film's atmosphere.

The choreography of the dances- whether those of the whirling Dervishes, or those employing Gurdjieff's own methods- are exquisitely done...with the scenes shot rather beautifully.

Alluring us, as viewers, the same way that Gurdjieff would have been allured by the great men he would meet on his journeys, while out exploring as a curious traveler, out of his element, on a hunt for answers about the very nature of his own being.

Though open ended (Gurdjieff's other books would effectively continue the story), the whole thing really is quite stunning...and draws you in, like a curious mind is drawn in to something exotic and new.

An excellent introduction to Gurdjieff, for the more visual learner.

7.5 out of 10.

I echo other reviewers in their description of this as a film for those who are spiritual seekers. Others will probably find it rather slow and dull.

One of the main points of Gurdjieff's philosophy is that most people are asleep. This film depicts the effort it takes to become, and to stay, awake.

My impression is that this is a film by someone who has studied what Gurdieff said about himself and his philosophy (Try 'All and Everything' if you want to get into the details of that), but not what others have said about him. The more you get to know what those who knew him said about him, the less likely you would be to present him in such a rosy light. Frankly, he comes across as a bit of a git who used some rather naive spiritual seekers to his own ends.

I enjoyed the movie, but see it as something of a positive skimming over Gurdjieff's early years.

Meetings with Remarkable Men is the adaptation of part of the autobiography of George Gurdjieff, a mystic who lived between the 2nd half of the 19th century and the 1st half of the 20th century.

The movie is more like a docudrama, about his travels from central asia to Egypt, and back to central Asia once again in a pursuit for knowledge about the purpose of life and existence, and the movie focuses on the time span between his teenage years back in Georgia to his early adulthood and the discovery of the secret place of the Sarmoung Brotherhood.

The movie was well produced, and its purpose was not to tell a story as much as to enlighten those who are willing to receive the knowledge, which is why I gave it a full score.