Mitch Blum

Disclaimer

Any film review will necessarily reflect the coloring of the author’s mind, based upon their conditioned existence, habitual thought patterns and inability to find a cab in the rain on the way to the premiere.

If you don’t like reading reviews that give away plot points, please don’t read beyond the capsule review. I really don’t give away too much in the personal review (and it won’t ruin the movie anyway) but if you don’t like spoilers then please don’t read it!

Capsule Review

Kate Churchill’s new yoga documentary, “Enlighten Up!”, is an engaging and enjoyable film that traces Nick Rosen’s attempted journey to enlightenment in a quick-moving and humorous fashion. Beautifully-shot and smartly-edited, “Enlighten Up!” will certainly appeal to dedicated yogis but is also the perfect introduction to yoga for the non-practitioner, adroitly presenting the variety, richness and paradoxes contained within the ancient practice through interviews with well-known yogis and Nick’s personal reflections. Like many spiritual paths, the journey charted in “Enlighten Up!” reveals itself to be far more meaningful than the presumed destination.

“Enlighten Up!” is a sincere, thoughtful and funny movie that is a welcome addition to the growing canon of modern films about yoga. Go see it when it comes to a ‘siddhi’ near you!

Personal Review

“Enlighten Up!” is a film that can easily be enjoyed on a superficial level as pure yoga-tainment. Between the compelling premise, beautiful footage and interesting interviews, “Enlighten Up!” is that rare yoga commodity – one that actually entertains.

In truth, however, “Enlighten Up!” is a slyly subversive and challenging film. It raises difficult questions about yoga and its modern adherents.

The humor in this film is almost entirely based on an outsider’s bemused perspective on the absurdities and contradictions that permeate modern yoga culture. Kate and her editing team (Jonathan Sahula and Khari Streeter) have chosen a dangerous path by risking having the audience take offense at the brutally honest portrayal of yoga culture contained within the film. Make no mistake: they could have used the exact same footage to craft a safe, respectful film that glorified and celebrated the perspectives of well-known yogis from around the globe. It would have been beautiful, of interest to dedicated yogis and probably a little boring. Thankfully, they chose a more interesting route. We all know that there are a lot of fools, charlatans and hypocrites in the yoga world and “Enlighten Up!” has no qualms in exposing them. This film is definitely not for those yogis that take themselves too seriously.

The set-up is simple. Can a skeptical journalist from NYC find enlightenment through a 6-month immersion in yoga? We follow the likable Nick Rosen from NY to Hawaii to India and back again as he learns from, and practices with, an astounding collection of well-known yoga teachers. He initially samples many styles of hatha yoga (e.g. Bikram, Iyengar, Ashtanga, etc.) before delving into a different type of yoga altogether- bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion.

Many of the featured yogis convey interesting or profound ideas. For example, Norman Allen berates a sore Nick for trying too hard to achieve postures and informs him that there’s no ‘token’ for getting a pose. Pattabhi Jois makes a compelling case for the value of practice, practice, practice. BKS Iyengar gives Nick ‘permission’ to not worry about finding spirituality in yoga, explaining that he himself practiced for 26 years before finding spirituality. There’s a treasure trove of wisdom provided in these vignettes (well, some of them at least) but most striking of all is that a film about yoga (union) focuses on the disunity that abounds within the modern yoga community. How can Nick possibly find enlightenment when he can’t even find consensus?

As the journey progresses we realize two things: First, Nick seems to be getting no closer to enlightenment – much to Kate’s consternation. Second, we seem to be getting no closer to receiving answers to the “big questions” – What exactly is enlightenment? What is the connection between asana and enlightenment? Does yoga work?

As the film progresses, Kate’s frustration rises, Nick’s commitment wanes and our faith in the power of yoga begins to waver. That is until we find ourselves joining Nick at the feet of Guru Saran Ananda, whose radiant presence literally bursts off the screen. Nick’s conversation with the Guru is – pardon the pun – enlightening. The emotional and spiritual center of the movie is revealed in one simple quote:

“It’s not what you do, it’s why you do.”

Talk about killing the Buddha! A dedicated yoga practitioner goes out to make a film that proves that yoga works and instead she discovers that yoga doesn’t really matter at all! True enlightenment (or perhaps, true contentment) can be found merely by living selflessly – by rooting individual actions in pure intentions. Sure, yoga techniques can be wonderful tools for gaining self awareness and stripping away the dross that obscures our true selves, but yoga is certainly not the only path to enlightenment. For some people, it actually might not be a path to enlightenment at all.

This insight compels the viewer to reconsider their personal motivations towards practice. The thesis is no longer ‘does yoga work?’ Rather, the question has become ‘why do I practice?’ Do I practice for the body, for the ego, or for something greater?

The viewer of “Enlighten Up!” starts as a voyeur, detachedly observing Nick and his mélange of teachers, nodding at the wise and laughing at the fools. But after meeting with Guru Saran Ananda, the screen suddenly transforms into a mirror and the observer becomes the observed. It no longer matters whether Nick finds enlightenment over the course of his short journey. What matters is whether you’ll find enlightenment through your practice – whatever that practice happens to be.

“Enlighten Up!” is a great film for the dedicated practitioner as well as those with just a passing interest in the subject – but for very different reasons. For the non-yogi it provides a broad and amusing insight into the oft-ridiculous modern world of yoga. For the practitioner, it provides nothing less than an opportunity for reflection and self-study.

So, as I said above:

“Enlighten Up!” is a sincere, thoughtful and funny movie that is a welcome addition to the growing canon of modern films about yoga. Go see it when it comes to a ‘siddhi’ near you!

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