Siddhartha Analysis

In the book, Siddhartha hears the teaching of Buddha but in the film, this is left out. This could have been for the purpose of saving time and as such, the idea is presented in a nut shell. It is only an 80 minutes film, so the filmmaker has to leave certain things out to make space for some other inclusions. The oriental feel to the film (Rooks, 1972) is something one cannot ignore. The scenes of rural India, Rabindra Sangeet, sweeping shots of forests, lakes and sunsets, the character of Kamala dressed in clothes that seem to be inspired from classic Sanskrit plays. These render an Oriental feel to the film. This could be one of the reasons why westerners were so attracted to watching this film.
Conrad Rooks effectively places music at

The shots of sunrises and sunsets give the feeling that with each passing day the life of Siddhartha moves on. He grows old and gains experiences. But his mind does not transcend with time. It remains still, in the same place searching for the same answers. He moves from place to place, inferring that he shifts space yet never finds meaning in life. But when he accepts life as a ferryman on the river, he remains static in one place and finally finds meaning to his life. The use of different locales to show the different stages of space shifting in Siddhartha’s life are portrayed in the film. Conrad Rooks shows the life of Siddhartha by the river, in the forest, as a businessman, as a lover of Kamala, and finally as a ferryman. In each setting, the time progresses ahead and Siddhartha’s quest for understanding life remains. Finally, when he lives as a ferryman, and observes the river, does he learn that time is still, it is we who move. He realizes that we try to add meaning to our lives by dissecting time in the past, present and future. When in reality the time never moves forward or backwards. It is we who create the illusion of time moving for our convenience. The use of close up shots to give the viewer a closer look at the expressions of the characters and then juxtaposing them against the long wide angle shots of the river at dusk or dawn to give the impression of time moving in terms of days passing by, yet the feeling that it looks similar every time, so time is