Richard Gere has left his mark on the silver screen with films such as An Officer and a Gentleman, Days of Heaven, American Gigolo, Breathless, Pretty Woman, First Knight, Primal Fear, Chicago, Unfaithful, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Cotton Club, Shall We Dance? and Internal Affairs.
But the list of his prestigious performances is long, featuring also the movies like Oren Moverman’s Time Out of Mind, John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Joseph Cedar’s Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Andrew Renzi’s The Benefactor, Lasse Hallström’s Hachi: A Dog’s Tale and The Hoax, and even miniseries such as Tom Rob Smith’s MotherFatherSon.
In 2003, he won his first Golden Globe for Best Actor for his role as lawyer and dancer Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago. Whilst his most recent works include Oh Canada, directed by Paul Schrader, and the romantic comedy The Making Of, directed by Edward Zwick.
Besides being an acclaimed actor and producer, the Golden Globe winner has always been a dedicated humanitarian activist. In fact, Richard Gere has received numerous awards for his commitment to civil and human rights, health and education, as well as for his support for the most marginalised. He has been Chairman of the Board of directors of the International Campaign for Tibet for over twenty years.
Richard Gere’s practice to Buddhism has been a long journey, starting with Zen, with his first teacher being Sasaki Roshi, by delving into one of his meditation programmes in L.A. After practicing Zen for for five or six years, he met the Dalai Lama in India, and he has often explained how this experience changed his life.
It doesn’t surprise that Gere embraced the opportunity to become the executive producer of a film about His Holiness, that has been made to celebrate the 90th birthday of the spiritual leader.
Wisdom of Happiness is the stunning testament from one of the most charismatic and significant figures of our time: the 14th Dalai Lama, Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. His leadership of Tibetan Buddhism has outlasted the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, as he was enthroned at the age of five, and has been the subject of hundreds of books and numerous Hollywood films.
This unconventional documentary speaks directly to every individual on the planet to share his wisdom on finding happiness in today’s world. It reflects on the balance between the ancient traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and the contemporary values of our globalised society. The film further confronts the struggles to overcome violence and war while on the brink of environmental collapse, showing us that it is possible to build a healthier, happier world for all living things, and that the tools needed to do so are already in our hands.
Wisdom of Happiness is the result of the collaboration between filmmakers Barbara Miller and Philip Delaquis, who form a partnership in life and in the industry. Both are members of the European Film Academy and the Swiss Film Academy and have worked together on influential projects such as prizewinning #Female Pleasure (2018), that was a huge theatrical success, becoming symbolic works in the fight against censorship and patriarchal violence. They have returned with a documentary that takes the viewer on a meditative journey and offers simply transformative insight, backed by Executive Producers Oren Moverman and Richard Gere, who have successfully worked together in the past.
The documentary features never-before-seen images of the brutal invasion of Tibet by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the Fifties. These events forced the Dalai Lama to flee the capital Lhasa, choosing exile in the Indian city of Dharamsala, where more than 150,000 Tibetan refugees now live. The film invites us into the daily life of the Dalai Lama in his house perched in the mountains, and combines these personal images and historical archive footage, with scenes of the current global challenges facing humanity today. The filmmakers experiment with new forms and content, interweaving the Dalai Lama’s reflections with evocative images of our planet and rare, recently discovered archival footage. Wisdom of Happiness offers a more human, intimate, and up-close portrait of the Dalai Lama than ever before.
The film also provides a socio-anthropological understanding of the geopolitical situation in Tibet, that is currently living under military repression. This is another aspect that is very dear to the American actor who said: “We want to tell the story of the Tibetan people: the true story of a separate, unique, independent culture. The path that Tibetans have followed for centuries, high in the Himalayas, can help us a lot in today’s world. We live in a world that on the surface seems incredibly complex—just look at what has happened with the media, with computers, with all the distractions that surround us. All of this makes it difficult to see reality and cultivate the highest human qualities: kindness, generosity, love, patience, wisdom, openness.”
In terms of the take away message one can cherish after viewing this film, Richard Gere has underlined how Eastern philosophy provides a less nihilistic twist to the way the West has confronted existentialism: “The Buddha showed us a path to this immense freedom, to liberation and bliss. There is a famous work by Je Tsongkhapa called Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. And that is exactly what His Holiness always says: ‘Your liberation is in the palm of your hand.’ This is a fundamental message for all of us: we are responsible for our experience of ourselves and the world.”
The Dalai Lama’s message, with his enlightened mind and disarming sense of humour, helps us understand how simple it can be to build a peaceful and prosperous society for all. The Dalai Lama addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time, but does so with a tone full of hope, reminding us that we are all architects of our own potential. Happiness arises within each of us, but only by cultivating unconditional compassion for one another can we transform the world. The result is a highly timely portrait of his thought and knowledge, making this work both a film and a legacy. Thus, Wisdom of Happiness is not just a film about the Dalai Lama, but a testimony of the human experience in the world. It is a great work of hope for all humanity.
Final Grade: A
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Photos Copyright Das Kollektiv GmbH