This is one of the best documentaries on how a single spiritual idea can scale into a global cultural movement.
Trailer for “Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started it All”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- In 1965, 70-year-old A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada boarded a cargo ship from Calcutta to New York. He had no money, no institutional backing, and suffered two heart attacks during the trip. He still pressed on and said he was ready to die in America if that was what it took to spread Krishna consciousness.
- In just a few years, this elderly Swami had turned a small circle of downtown hippies into an international movement. It reached San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury and even London during peak Beatlemania.
- George Harrison helped push the mantra into pop culture by backing devotees and bringing the Hare Krishna chant into the orbit of his hit “My Sweet Lord.”
Watch “Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started it All”
You can stream “Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started it All” on Amazon Prime Video. It’s also available on Tubi and other rental platforms depending on the service you use.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 94/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 95/100 (Users); 94/100 (Critics)
Note: The user score here may run a little high because a film like this can attract strong support from devotees or movement members who are more likely to rate it warmly.
Director’s Note: This documentary is directed by John Griesser, Nitin G., and Jean Griesser. They make this feel like a boots-on-the-ground origin story about an elderly teacher building a movement from scratch in one of the roughest, most chaotic parts of 1960s New York.
Release Date: 2017
Other Unique Stuff
- The doc makes a strong case that while the philosophy is ancient Indian, the modern Hare Krishna movement, as we know it, really took shape in America. Specifically, New York in the late 1960s.
- You also get a rare look at how quickly public opinion flipped. From curiosity and counterculture appeal to full-on fear, including real cases of families hiring people to kidnap and “deprogram” members.
Wrap Up:
“Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started it All” is one of those religion docs that also works as an underdog story, an immigration story, and a counterculture story.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc