Today, February 2, is Groundhog Day, which is also the name of the great Buddhist film, Groundhog Day. OK, so maybe it wasn't intended to be a "Buddhist" film, but many of us have adopted it.
For the one or two of you who haven't seen it -- the film follows the life of Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray), as he re-lives the same day over and over and over. In the process, he transforms from a self-centered jerk to a sincere and caring human being. Directed by Harold Ramis, the film was released to theaters in 1993.
When it dawns on Phil that no matter what he does, he'll get a do-over, he indulges in, well, indulgence. And risk taking. When the fun in that wears off, he becomes desperate and tries to kill himself. And, in fact, he succeeds. But he still wakes up, once again, to the same day. Eventually he begins to pay attention to each moment and each person he encounters, and to care. And when he finally gets it right, he wakes up to a new day.
In a talk on Groundhog Day, Zen teacher Dairyu Michael Wenger noted that the film also is about karma. Each time he re-lives Groundhog Day, he makes different choices, and each choice leads to a new reality. The days are extraordinarily different from each other, even though the only thing that changes is Phil himself.
However, there are limits to what Phil can do. He tries repeatedly to save the life of a homeless man, and every day the man dies, anyway. "It was just his time.," a nurse says, words that have a sobering effect on Phil. He gives up trying to control outcomes and instead becomes a "bodhisattva mensch."
Did you see anything else related to dharma in the film (or any film you want to discuss, for that matter)?
A movie with a good message.
Barbara has summarised the principal Buddhist theme in Groundhog Day very skilful. In my view there is perhaps an element of Taoism also in Groundhog Day; namely the respect for nature and the central role that the Groundhog – Paul or something; I forgot its name – plays in the movie.
In the third and last movie in the series of Matrix I recall a scene where Neo couldn’t get out of a underground station. It was only when he changed his approach to the matrix and the homeless person that he was able to exit the station.
Lastly, my alltime favourite; the Japanese movie called Okuribito and known in the West as Departures that won an Oscar for the best foreign movie in 2009. Impermanence especially death is the central Buddhist theme I could gather from this movie. Naturally it depict in more detail the life of a “coffin man” in contemporary Japan. The movie is loosely based on the novel “Coffin Man”, but the author (Aoki) has his own views.
The only one I can think of is the movie “The Tao of Steve”. The first lesson in being Steve is to eliminate desire.
‘Groundhog Day’ is one of my all time favorites. I can’t help wondering if Bill Murray himself was influenced by that role. I live in a Punxsutawney, PA kind of little town–even smaller. Though we don’t have a Phil the Groundhog to mark Groundhog Day, I would like to find the mindfulness and diligence to try to truly notice one new thing about my village each day that I did not notice before. Then, when I get really good, try to influence one thing or person for the better each day. In any event, ‘Goundhog Day’ is definitely a film about the eightfold path, with a vengeance. Though I doubt that the Buddha meant that, once you are enlightened, you end up with Andy MacDowell.
Thanks for the post Barbara. To each their own, I suppose, but I could never watch that movie because watching Bill Murray in these roles results in my experiencing a “praecox feeling.”
But at least you inspired me to make a post on my blog about what a good Buddhist movie ought to be like, and wabisabi esthetics.
In the movie, Bill Murray not only helps others, but finds the limitless inner joy that comes with doing so. It’s like a wave in a bathtub when one dedicates oneself to the benefit of all others: one is awash in the same love one gives.