Da Tang Xuan Zang

as i recall the story of quan yin there's too much sufferings in this world, and watching this video..i questioned myself, why did he stopped before he heard there was a temple in the desert. Did he used his instinct or he counted the distance he traveled? Well of course everyone is trying to grasp whats given from the movie about buddhism, and after watching journey to the west we feel the need for buddhist communities to gather knowledge about xuan zang so the world knows a glimpse about the story to the west since we don't know if it's a fabricated stories foretold throughout the time. Just like the Christian movie, kingdom of heaven, at the start they didn't mention if it's a true story. im not trying to challenge someone to convert to buddhism, learn the languages in buddhism, their traditions, their considered sacred places, their deities, researching ancient scriptures from places around the world..but to me buddhism is about practicing dharma, nothing to attain. Look at the example when xuan zang were held captive by the king, he refused to eat because he wanted to show nothing more nothing less than his faith to continue the journey that was his wish from the start, are these buddhists trying to convince something projected by the movie to contain whats being corrupted physically? Who's gonna be held responsible for that scene? When xuan zhang was thirsty in the desert, and suddenly rain comes, its a good sign of hope, from that we see hope in a religion. Another scene is about a slave with a mask, he was cursed that he couldn't take off his mask, um.....seriously? He could just easily untied it. I was expecting more from movies we've watched like GI JOE combined with Transcendence combine with The Sorcerer and the white snake. People were expecting how do they define karma, is it from curses of the people we have not seen cursing us, or is it sort of curses passed on by the locals. We didn't even get the chance to know what's really in the book that xuan zang has after traveling to India...HELLLOOOOOOOO?

My actual rating of this film would be an 8 or perhaps 9 out of 10, but I gave it a 10 because I certainly feel it deserves better than it's current rating of 6. This is certainly not a film for everyone. As previous reviewers have noted, it has a very slow pace and it is not an action movie, but then it never claimed to be. Just because it is Asian does not mean it's going to have kung fu sequences.

This film is about a monk's journey. The why of the journey is really not the main focus, it's about the journey itself. It's about pilgrimage. One can learn about the historical Xuan Zang (and the subsequent fictionalized versions of his life) elsewhere. What this movie captures is more along the lines of films such as the 2006 Russian movie Ostrov (The Island). It is about the character's spiritual journey and the effects he has on those he encounters, as well as how his faith carries him through both hardships and triumphs.

Gorgeously filmed with a beautiful soundtrack, this is a quiet, reflective movie which will not appeal to everyone, and certainly not to people looking for anything fast-paced or action oriented.

The story is straightforward and lack of a sense of rhythm from beginning to the end. The leading actor Xiaoming Huang made me feel sleepy when he said the lines. Jin Luo and Kai Tan is the only two roles that can make me believe in, the other supporting roles were set as props, neither vitality nor personality. Therefore, the biggest drawback of this film is that the characters are shaped by very dull way.

Of course, the advantage of this film is the original music and photography technology.If you want to appreciate Buddhism scenic spot in India, if you like Tang dynasty costumes, and visit beautiful scenery of the silk road, all of these has been put in the movie.

Xuan Zang's journey showed many obstacles in his path to gain an even deeper spiritual truth. Xuan Zang displayed great endurance and perseverance in the face of these obstacles.

At times I had to suspend disbelief for example when an elephant tipped over into a river, sunk and did not drown. Why is this important? I feel they went out of their way to show that Xuan Zang was not responsible for the death of any living creature which is a central tenant to Buddhism.

Where this movie breaks down is in detailing spiritual truth. The movie talked about debate and showed a winner with no debate! I would have liked to have seen at least a couple of minutes of debate interspersed.

Imagery, music, and quest are all seamlessly synthesised to produce an immersive experience. Let yourself go ...