Ayurveda: the Art of Being
Ayurveda: The Art of Being is a documentary about the ancient health-care system Ayurveda, which means "The Science of Life" in Sanskrit. The oldest continually practiced medicine in the world, Ayurveda traces its origins to centuries of observations of humans, animals, and plants. At its core, it is an herbal science that is said not only to heal the body, but the spirit as well. Without narration, the film takes a look at several Indian practitioners of Ayurveda who explain how they came to study the medicine and how worldwide interest in their work has grown. A major strength of this film is that it is an eye-opener for the uninitiated westerner, revealing the untapped values of an arcane healing doctrine while demystifying its methods.
Director: Pan Nalin
Starring: Brahmanand Swamigal, Vaidya Narayan Murthy
Writer-director Pan Nalin's film is at its best when he focuses on the meticulous, hands-on preparation of herb- and mineral-based drugs; it's also genuinely provocative to hear Ayurvedists argue that healing should be a vocation rather than a career.
A sometimes eye-opening, if overlong, German-Swiss documentary on a holistic health system that's been practiced, mostly in India, for more than 500 years.
As a believer preaching to an audience of believers, he (Nalin) feels no need to offer proofs or anything even approaching a rational argument.
For the most part, though, Ayurveda speaks in subtitled Asian cadences to an affluent international audience primed to believe.
Best Feature Documentary
Galway Film Fleadh (2002)
Best Documentary
Los Angeles Indian Film Festival (2003)
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