USA: Robert Redford’s latest movie, “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” which opened in 2,000 theaters across America this weekend, is based upon the book of the same name. The book is an adaptation of the “Bhagavad Gita” into the story of a 1920’s game of golf. Most viewers won’t make the connection, and most professional reviewers seem clueless, too, though a few sensed a “Zen” or “Hindu” flavor to the philosophy. For example, Roger Ebert called it the “first Zen movie about golf.” The movie’s plot centers around a has-been golfer, “Rannulph Junuh” (read “R. Junnuh,” as in “Arjuna”), played by Matt Damon, who is advised by a caddy, Bagger Vance (read “Bhagavan,” i.e. Lord Krishna), played by Will Smith. Ebert likes the movie, but CNN reviewer Paul Tatara said, “you’ve certainly seen worse movies, but Redford really blew an opportunity here.” Steven Rosen has written a book, “Gita on the Green: The Mystical Tradition Behind Bagger Vance,” detailing the novel’s derivation from the Bhagavad Gita. It can be advance ordered at Amazon.com.
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