Film
Kumaré
Vikram Gandhi poses as a mystical Indian guru in Arizona to explore how easily people surrender to spiritual authority. Part con, part genuinely moving portrait of connection and vulnerability, it raises uncomfortable questions about belief, community, and what we're really seeking when we seek wisdom.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like character-driven nonfiction that examines belief from the inside, where the pleasure is in watching people's sincerity play out in ordinary, unguarded moments.
Skip it if you want a tight, fast-moving documentary, since this one lingers in group sessions and quiet stretches, and its hour and a half can feel leisurely at times.
What it asks of you: It asks for patience with long, unhurried scenes of people talking and sitting together, and a willingness to stay with a slow build rather than expecting clear-cut jokes or punchlines.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst2015
A documentarian embedded in the life of a wealthy eccentric gradually uncovers something darker. Like Kumaré, it's about the relationship between filmmaker and subject, and how intimacy reveals unexpected truths.
But It's a six-hour commitment, and the ending doesn't resolve as cleanly as you might want. Some find it manipulative.
My Name Is Khan2010
A film about identity, assumption, and spiritual searching that also questions what lies beneath surface authenticity. It has warmth and humor alongside moral seriousness.
But The Bollywood register might feel incongruous if you're expecting pure documentary reflection. Melodrama shows up.
The Toys That Made Us2017
Examines how we project meaning onto objects and ideas, and how creators shape desire. It shares Kumaré's interest in the gap between what something is and what we want it to be.
But It's comfort viewing for some, empty nostalgia for others. Depends on your tolerance for corporate hagiography.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Kumaré
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Three Colors: Blue1993
Both are about the gap between who we are and who we pretend to be, and what that gap teaches us about meaning and connection.
Kieslowski's meditation on grief, identity, and the things we tell ourselves. It's about someone trying on different selves after loss—a spiritual journey without a guru, without answers, without easy truth.
But It's abstract European cinema from the nineties. If you want plot and resolution, you'll be frustrated.
More like this (7)
Tickled2016
A documentary that starts absurd and becomes genuinely disturbing. Like Kumaré, it follows rabbit holes of human behavior and the strange trust people place in strangers.
But It goes to genuinely ugly places. Not for viewers who want their documentaries tidy or uplifting.
Wild Wild Country2018
About a real spiritual community in Oregon that became catastrophic. It shares Kumaré's fascination with how charisma, belief, and authority intersect.
But Heavy, paranoid, sometimes feels exploitative. Six hours of mounting unease is not everyone's idea of entertainment.
The Act of Killing2012
Like Kumaré, it uses performance and role-play to access difficult truths. A meditation on how we construct identity and narrative around unbearable things.
But Devastatingly dark, and the form can feel self-indulgent. Demands emotional energy to watch.
Catfish2010
A documentary about online deception and human connection that turns inward and becomes surprisingly tender. Questions what we owe each other when roles are confused.
But Some see it as exploitative of its subject. The twist has aged less gracefully than the filmmakers hoped.
Objective, Burma!1945
A Hollywood war film about truth under pressure and identity in extreme conditions. Pre-dates modern documentary by decades but asks the same questions about authenticity.
But It's a traditional narrative film, not what you expect. The propaganda elements won't surprise anyone studying this era, but they exist.
Vow of Silence2012
The mirror image of Kumaré: instead of adding a false self, monks remove the self entirely. Both explore what happens when you step outside normal social performance.
A five-part documentary about people who choose silence in religious communities. Minimal narration, maximum observation of how people construct identity within constraints.
But Genuinely meditative to the point of stillness. For many viewers, it will feel like nothing is happening.
Woman in the Dunes1964
Both examine how people accept authority and construct meaning in enclosed systems, and whether authenticity matters when the belief is real.
A Japanese experimental film about a man trapped in a pit, surrendering to absurd ritual and finding unexpected meaning. Hypnotic, formally daring, quietly devastating.
But Black and white, deliberately paced, genuinely weird. It doesn't explain itself and won't wait for you to catch up.
People
Cast
Vikram GandhiHimself / Sri Kumaré
Purva BediTour Manager- Kristen CalgaroYoga Teacher
Directing
- Vikram GandhiDirector
Production
- Brendan ColthurstProducer
- Bryan CarmelProducer
- Meghan MalloyProduction Assistant
Recommended by
Doctor Strange, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Holy Hell, An Honest Liar, Hung, Face Off, Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment, Pandora's Promise, Shadowplay