She Likes to Watch

This week’s films reveal a love of life, both spiritual and physical

Every 12 years, millions of people trek to Allahabad, India, in search of peace, harmony and spiritual unity.

Their goal is the intersection of India’s holiest rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna, Their gathering, a spectacular spiritual festival, is known as the the Kumbh Mela.

It’s the subject of the 2004 documentary “Shortcut to Nirvana,” which screens tonight in San Luis Obispo.

Filmmakers Maurizio Benazzo and Nick Day chronicle the 2001 Kumbh Mela through the eyes of several Westerners and an ebullient young Hindu monk, Swami Krishnanand. Along the way, they encounter some of India’s most respected holy men, as well as His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
The result is a colorful, chaotic look at a spiritual journey shared by as many as 70 million people. Compare that to the pilgrims who traveled to Rome to pay final respects to Pope John Paul II — estimated at a mere million.

“Shortcut to Nirvana” plays at 7 p.m. tonight at the San Luis Obispo public library, 995 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

A $5 donation is suggested.

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“Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

Young people could pick a far worse role model than Ferris Bueller, the protagonist of the classic ’80s comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Sure, the high school senior skips school and spends the entire day seeing the sights in a “borrowed” Ferrari. Sure, he wrecks said priceless automobile and gets his best friend in deep, deep trouble.

But Ferris also teaches us a lesson — about life, freedom and The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.”

In “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Ferris (Matthew Broderick) feigns sickness in order to spend a beautiful spring day with his girlfriend (Mia Sara) and his best friend (Alan Ruck) in downtown Chicago.

The ruse fools almost everyone, including his fellow students, who launch a townwide effort to “Save Ferris.” But his sister (Jennifer Gray) and the school’s Dean of Students, Mr. Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), smell a rat.

Writer-director John Hughes gave us many of the decade’s most beloved movies, including “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty in Pink” and “The Breakfast Club.” But it’s “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” that stands out as the most unabashedly and unapologetically fun.

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” screens at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.