Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi transforms himself into a caricature of a wise Indian guru, intending to disprove the faith of believers in the Southwest in “Kumaré,” a shallow, deeply aggravating, suspect and eventually hostile experiment in first-person documentary. Provocative without provoking, it’s little more than “Borat” without the laughs. “Kumaré” irritated me from its very first frames, a stunt that grows more pointless by the second. Gandhi’s voiceover ought to be taught in documentary programs as part of “No. Don’t Go There 101.” ” I’m the biggest faker I know,” he tells his kindly victims on camera. Ah, get out more. Winner of South by Southwest’s 2011 Audience Award. 84m. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
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