Taking a low-key approach, Herzog captures the pilgrims' intense fervor. The sight of 500,000 people united in prayer is mind-blowing.
– V.A. Musetto,
New York Post,
15 Jun 2005
fresh:
The assembly and eventual destruction of the Kalachakra sand mandala is the cycle around which the German director Werner Herzog's absorbing documentary is structured.
– Stephen Holden,
New York Times,
16 Jun 2005
fresh:
[Herzog] knows instinctively when to linger and when it's time to turn away.
– Jan Stuart,
Newsday,
16 Jun 2005
fresh:
The director made his name in the '70s with a series of intense fictional films, but he's also proven a fascinating documentarian.
– Walter V. Addiego,
San Francisco Chronicle,
22 Jul 2005
fresh:
What could end up feeling like a by-the-numbers Discovery Channel docu is enlivened considerably by wry asides from the helmer.