Unmistaken Child *****

This is an enchanting documentary that definitely leaves you thinking.

“Unmistaken Child” follows the physical and spiritual journey of Tibetan Buddhist monk, Tenzin Zopa, as he seeks to identify the child who is the reincarnation of his deceased master, Lama Konchog. In the process to find his master, a “Rinpoche” or reborn, enlightened Buddhist, Tenzin relies on astrology, the ash remains of his master’s cremation, and dreams. However, Tenzin is chosen for the job of finding his master not because of his great skill at interpreting these signs, but because of his great love for his master and the close relationship that he had to him all of his life. Rinpoche literally means "precious one"

A the beginning of his journey Tenzin has mixed emotions. He is happy at the prospect of the rebirth of his master, but he is filled with trepidation about being chosen to identify this reincarnation. How will he know? And once he does find “the unmistaken” child, he must convince the parents to release the child and let him become the guardian.

Tenzin looks for signs and he finds them. The film is filled with beautiful and moving scenes. We see Tenzin’s grief at the loss of his dear master and the mixture of pride and anguish experienced by the parents who make the difficult decision to release their child in his care. Perhaps most haunting, however, are the images of the “unmistaken child”. It is truly a bit unnerving to see a toddler so poised and quite inexplicably showing a very grown up interest in, the daily watering of an apple tree (which we later learn was planted by Lama Konchog).

But are these signs really what convinces Tenzin in the end or is it something else…something intangible and only recognizable by him? The ones we love, our precious ones, are more, much more, to us than simply the sum of their parts that reads like a personal ad. Let’s face it “blonde hair, blue eyes, enjoys walks on the beach and sushi” isn’t going to cut it when you are looking for the soul inside the body of a child. So what does?

I have a picture of my husband that I keep on my nightstand. It was taken over 40 years ago (that’s before I was born). He was a student at Columbia in NY and is standing on the street looking over his shoulder and smiling. I love that picture because for whatever reason, I’m convinced when I look at it that he is smiling at me. It is the look in his eyes, that indescribable something that I have seen now a thousand times, was there before and will be there always. Would I recognize it coming out of someone else’s eyes? When I asked him “How would you find me?” he replied, “Oh, I’d know by the shine coming out of your eyes”.