by Rajesh Rai
Over the years I have been compiling a list of films to watch for spiritual inspiration. The following are my current top nine. They have religious themes, uplift the spirit and remind those on the search for truth, don’t give up. The road may be arduous but worth travelling. Hope they inspire.
1.Marcelino Pan y vino 1955 (Spanish, director Ladislao Vajda novel by Jose Silva) (available on U Tube)
A week old baby is abandoned outside a Franciscan monastery. The film is about a playful child who is cared for by some very patient monks. A tender movie with a great soundtrack and a story of how monks raising a child witness the miracle of innocence. It won the best film award at the Berlin International film festival in 1955. The film is simply told but surprisingly moving.
2. Shirdi ke Sai Baba 1977 (Written and directed Ashok V Bhushan, original language Hindi) (available Zee5, U tube)
A biographical film about the life of Sai Baba of Shirdi. This biopic gives Sai Baba a Bollywood musical makeover. The result, Sai Baba is now part of the popular imagination of India. The film’s devotional songs can be heard in many of India’s temples and the movie is a masala mix of jealousy, anger, poverty, love, compassion, miracles – the whole gambit. Sudhir Dalvi’s portrayal of Sai living a life of simplicity is iconic. The film retains throughout the essence of a giant in India’s spiritual legacy, but whose humility will not allow that to be said about him. Genius.
3.Baba’ Aziz 2005 (Writer and director Nacer Khemir original language Tunisian Arabic)(Available U Tube -English subtitles)
A Tunisian film on themes of Islamic mysticism and Sufism set in, what must be, the Sahara Desert. It is a sublime film with a number of stories intertwined into a central story. The central story is of an old blind dervish, travelling with his young granddaughter to a dervish gathering in the desert. The desert provides an otherworldly framework to the storytelling, adding to the mystical quality of the film that asks its audience to see with their hearts. I assume, the reason the aged dervish is portrayed as blind. The script writing is crafted throughout with metaphors, singing, dervish dancing. Dialogue such as “ the people of this world are like three butterflies in front of a candle flame. The first one went closer and said: I know about love. The second one touched the flame lightly with his wing. I know how love’s fire can burn. The third one threw himself into heart of the flame and was consumed. He alone knows what true love is.” A must watch with a transcendental ending.
4. Spring Summer Autumn Winter and Spring (2003) (Korean)(director Kim Ki-Duk) (available on Amazon)
An elegant film set in a remote mountain lake where, like a swan, a tiny Buddhist monastery gracefully floats on a raft surrounded by breathtaking landscape. The master and his student are the central characters living in an idyllic setting but the student wants to experience more. Seasons march relentlessly with time but are more forgiving. An exceptional film with cinematography that inspires the spirit. Very little is said in the telling of the story, yet the story is told. Exceptional.
5. The Song of Bernadette 1943 (director Henry King, novel written by Franz Werfel (available on Amazon)
The film tells the true story of Bernadette and her miraculous visions of “Our lady in Lourdes” in 1858, now the religious shrine at Lourdes. Bernadette began having visions at the age of 14. The Virgin Mother, adorned with gold roses on both feet, asked Bernadette to visit her 15 times. Bernadette had 18 visions in total and was canonised by the church in 1876. The portrayal of St Bernadette by Jennifer Jones is mesmerising and won her an Oscar for best actress, The film has a stupendous cast, which includes Vincent Price and William J. Cob. The film in total won 4 Oscars. It is a thought provoking film, simply told, dealing with issues of spiritual dogma, suffering and faith, humility and a naive faith of a young girl that melts the scepticism of the orthdoxy and the elites. Definitely worth a watch. It has inspired me to visit Lourdes.
6. Bhagavan Ramakrishna Dev 1955 (director Prafulla Chakraborty, original language Bengali)( Available U Tube)
A biographical film on Sri Ramakrishna, arguably one of the greatest spiritual Indian adepts of the 20th century. He is the guru of the legendary Vivekanada. Kanu Bannejee’s acting, who plays the part of Sri Ramakrishna, is filled with such spiritual intensity, that the portrayal verges on insanity. It’s a spiritually intoxicating performance and film. This film depicts some of the spiritual paths Sri Ramakrishna mastered and the great teachers who were drawn to guide him on these paths. A film depicting a remarkable period of spiritual accomplishments by one of the greats.
7. The King of Kings 1961 (Directed by Nicholas Ray) (available on Apple TV, Prime)
A Hollywood epic on the life of Jesus of Nazareth with Orson Welles narrating the “greatest story ever told”. I chose this film because of the sermon on the mount scene. The sermon is given with such conviction by Jeffrey Hunter, who plays the part of Jesus, that I defy any searcher not to be moved by it. Its message remains universal. 700 extras were used filming this scene, as if angels were watching in awe and giving volume to a sermon that wrote history. The film was made at the tail end of the era of Hollywood’s epic cinema. A great film reminding, in the Hollywood way, of a message that is relevant now as it was 2000 years ago – peace and love.
8. Master of Zen 1994 (Hong Kong, director and writer Brandy Yuen, original language Chinese and dubbed into English)(available on U Tube)
The film is about the life and legend that is Bodi Dharma. Bodhi Dharma introduced Buddhism to China from India, he is the founder of Zen Buddhism and founder of Shaolin Temple. The genre of the film is 70’s Chinese martial art cinema with fantastical English dubbing (at times in east end accents). All said, the film, through the cartoon like exaggerations of the genre, explain the larger than life and legendary achievements of Bodhi Dharma. Bodhi Dharma made the unbelievable believable, such were his feats, for this reason, the film just works.
9. Satyam Shivam Sundaram (truth, divinity and beauty) 1978 (Indian, director Raj Kapoor, written by Jainendra Jain (Available Amazon UK)
Rajesh Rai
3 April 2026
