Becoming Nobody

Not a bad movie but not much more than a retreading of all those "vaguely eastern" philosophies that any westerner living (or becoming alive) after the New Age movement of the 70s west has heard before. Again, it's not a bad thing - sometimes you need to hear those things again and sometimes there's a hidden gem that particularly resonates with you.

Perhaps the director should have decided to lean more into making either a documentary of eastern philosophies or a love-letter to Ram Dass. The middle-of-the-road approach doesn't particularly deliver in either aspect, seems superficial and may, in fact, be a detriment to the man himself, even though the guy manages to exude a fair amount of charm and charisma despite the movie's shortcomings.

This is a very easy and interesting watch. Contrary to some reviews here I don't think the director gets in the way at all. Ram Dass is quite frail at the time of filming and to get more out of him Director Jaime Catto needs to engage a bit. As soon as Ram Dass is talking the director backs off and lets us listen.

I feel two ways about this film

The first, I was happy for the opportunity to get a quick glimpse in to how Ram Dass spent his last days in Maui, I liked seeing his gnarled hand and wheel chair because I realized the pain he must have been in constantly and how he overcame that.

However I feel this film was the producer's ego trip, I spent many moments wondering who this person was sitting with Ram Dass telling him that his (filmmaker's) theories were "much more advanced" than what Ram Dass was saying. I found the filmmaker to be a cringe worthy hanger-on type. He was not identified and it was perplexing as to what the hell he was doing there in the middle of the film. And yet Ram Dass saw him and verbalized to him that he could not see himself for who he truly is, which was beautiful. Compassion.

I saw the clips of Ram Dass were edited so he always spoke immediately and clearly, I would have preferred to see him in his true state, long silences and struggling with the aftermath of his stroke but still shining through. His humility was lost in this film in this way, as well as his real point.

I found myself caught up in the visual film clips played while Ram Dass's old lectures were played, to the point that it distracted away from what he was saying.

This film was not what I had hoped and I feel that it is not an accurate legacy of Ram Dass's life and that one would be better served listening to his lectures on youtube, or where ever they can find.

I feel a void left because there does not seem to be anyone as eloquent as him to carry on his legacy. He is not gone, true, but his work touched so many people and the real loss is we do not have the authentic human being that was himself here now.

While an interesting subject, the director/interviewer (Catto) seemed more interested in inserting himself into the narrative of Ram Dass instead of providing an insightful dive into Ram Dass' teachings.

The hypocrisy of Catto's ever present ego on film felt at odds with the true spiritual teachings of Ram Dass. Nevermind that 50% of this film was random stock footage hap-hazardly laid over narration.

Stock footage is an ok tool, but when it has nothing to do what's shown on screen it leaves the audience wondering if they're watching a real movie or an amateur's college term project.

First Hit: Moments of delight with Ram Dass are mixed with Jamie Catto's own agenda.

Instead of producer and director Jamie Catto eliciting information about Ram Dass and his life, we get him doing this and also spending time sharing his own spiritual journey and points of view. It isn't that this is wrong; however, I came to see a film about Ram Dass, a man who has influenced so many of us baby boomers and others with his willingness to expand our understanding of life as it is.

Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) found a yearning from within to better understand life as he and others were experiencing it. He had questions about what and why life, the way it was unfolding for him, was unsatisfactory. With these questions, he began a quest to better understand it all.

Meeting with Dr. Timothy Leary, he started taking various types of drugs, psilocybin and then LSD to expand his consciousness. But it wasn't until he met Neem Karoli Baba, a Hindu spiritual teacher in India that he called Maharaj-ji, did he find his guru and path. In Maharaj-ji he found loving acceptance and limitless love for who he was.

The film intersperses current time interview segments with Catto, with previously recorded film and video segments of Ram Dass teaching groups of people. These clips cover a broad spectrum of his life and help to make this story interesting.

Moments, where Catto shared his understanding of Dass's teachings looking for approval and pats on the back from Dass, got tiring. At one point Jamie outright told Ram that he thought of Dass as his father figure and it came across, to me, as needy and approval seeking.

The film did not spend as much time on Ram's hospice work, for which he's very well known and respected. But Dass did talk a little about it by telling a couple of stories, in video clips, of patients he worked with. He also spoke about the importance of embracing both the concept and actual death as it arrives at each of us.

It was in these segments along with a couple of other discussions that I fell into enjoying this film wholeheartedly. I've come to understand many of the same things that Dass has learned through my own meditation practices and readings, including his books "Being Here" and "Still Here."

Catto, as I previously indicated, spent too much time sharing his own teachings and understandings, as I came to see this film about Ram Dass.

Overall: Not quite the film it could have been, but there are genuinely out-loud enjoyable moments.