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Bill Murray, Buddhism and LiT

Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:41 am
by hull_street
I commented a while ago on what seemed to be a sort of philosophy behind the movie. The more I think about it, the more I see LiT as kind of an expression of Buddhism. The theme of the movie is transience (of relationships, in this case). Each of the characters spends a period of deep reflection alone, achieves a form of enlightenment, and when they part at the end, they both acknowledge that it had to happen, accept it (sadly), and continue on with their lives in a much more conscious (awake?) way.

This movie fits in very well with some other choices that Bill Murray has made in the past. Both "The Razor's Edge" and even "Groundhog Day" have elements of Buddhism in them. Accident ? I doubt it. What do you guys think ?

Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:51 am
by jml98
hmmm...certainly an original idea, I def. havent heard of this before....i can see what you mean, and there were some references to Buddhism in LiT....i remember that in the original screenplay, Charlotte is supposed to ask (John i think...) "Am i shallow?" because she goes to the Buddhist temple but "didn't feel anything" (which she actually did say in the movie, on the phone to Lauren)...it happens at the beginning of the movie, maybe the rest of the movie seems to serve as the answer "no your not shallow" and throws in some Buddhist elements in there....maybe ur on to something hull, i think i like it :lol:

Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:13 pm
by lost in translation
That has been evident to everyone I've spoken to, regarding the movie.

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:24 am
by Just Like Honey...
What influences for buddhism did you notice in groundhog day? as a huge fan of that movie im almost inspired to go and watch it again...

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2004 9:30 pm
by hull_street
I suppose it's the idea of karma, repeatedly doing something until you get it "right".
It's more of the concept, rather than any direct reference.
Bill Murray's character goes through a life-changing transformation in that film, from self-consumed to selfless.

And if you haven't watched Groundhog Day recently, I would urge all of you to do so. The film only gets better with age.

Hey lostintranslation, who are you talking to about LiT ?
Looks like I need to make a new circle of friends...