| Zen 禅 | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Banmei Takahashi |
| Screenplay by | Banmei Takahashi |
| Based on | A novel by Tetsuo Ōtani |
| Starring | Nakamura Kantarō II Yuki Uchida |
| Edited by | Junichi Kikuchi |
| Music by | Ryudo Uzaki |
Production companies | Kadokawa Pictures Twins Japan |
| Distributed by | Kadokawa Pictures |
Release date | 10 January 2009 |
Running time | 127 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Languages | Japanese Mandarin |
Zen (禅) is a 2009 film directed by Banmei Takahashi and starring Nakamura Kantarō II as Dogen, and Yuki Uchida as Orin.[1][2] The story is based on the novel Eihei no kaze: Dōgen no shōgai written by Tetsuo Ōtani in 2001.[3]
The film is a biography of Dōgen Zenji, a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher. After travelling to China to study, Dogen founded the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. The Buddhist Film Foundation described it as "a poignant, in-depth, reverent and surprisingly moving portrait of Eihei Dogen."[4]
Russell Edwards of Variety described it as "The origins of a spiritual tradition are depicted with prerequisite solemnity and a pleasing veneer of arthouse showmanship."[5] Mark Schilling, writing for The Japan Times, gave the film three and a half stars and described it as a "rare serious film about this form of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood — let alone practiced — by ordinary Japanese."[6]
The film premiered in Japan in 2009. The following year, it had its US debut at the International Buddhist Film Festival.[7] The film was released on DVD and includes a short documentary entitled The Zen of Dogen with Kazuaki Tanahashi.[8]
