Best movies like Come Come Come Upward

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

About three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment.

Two orphans, Gamie, a young blind girl and her little brother Gil-sun, are taken in by a Buddhist monk. While the shy little girl finds her at ease at the temple, the enthusiastic and dynamic little Gil-sun soon starts to disturb this quiet place. After his sister told him their mother had visited her in a dream, the little boy tries to understand why his mom did not come to see him too. In order to meet her again, he decides to follow the monk for a very long initiatic trip.

When young John Wesley is saved from the flames burning his family's home, he believes God has chosen him for a higher mission. He grows up to become a minister in the Church of England but disapproves of concern within the church over the social position of the clergy. He concerns himself more with the common people and with individual religious experiences. He tries to accomplish his purposes by remaining within the church but the methodical way in which he and his followers go about their duties soon sets them apart as a special group jeeringly called Methodists.

A kindly English botanist and a gruff American promoter lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.

The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.

A con man who is on the run from law enforcement in the U.S. travels to Cambodia to collect his share in an insurance scam but discovers more than he bargained for.

The devil and the spirit of mankind argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.

A story that follows the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks living in South Korea.

The film tells the story of a wayward nun, Megildis, who deserts her convent with a knight, influenced by the music of an evil minstrel. A statue of the Virgin Mary comes to life and takes place of Megildis, who makes her way through the world and its many vicissitudes.

A group of US Navy weathermen taking measurements in the Gobi desert in World War II are forced to seek the help of Mongol nomads to regain their ship while under attack from the Japanese.

Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a full-time vocation. Controversies swirling within modern monastic Buddhism are examined, from celibacy and the role of women to racism and concerns about the environment.

When a single mother begins to experience symptoms of the stigmata, she seeks the help of a local priest and nun to help her understand what is seen and unseen.

No Look Pass is the coming-of-age American Dream story of Emily “Etay” Tay, a first generation Burmese immigrant from Chinatown, Los Angeles, who breaks all of the rules of tradition. After living a double life at Harvard University, she strives to play professional basketball in Germany while coming out as a lesbian. Emily’s dreams are no slam dunk — family, race, and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell conspire against her, firing her passions on and off the court.

In December 1997, Tina Petrova drove off a cliff - literally and figuratively. A tragic car crash in the California desert was the beginning of a journey that would lead her to the extraordinary works of 13th century Sufi mystic Mevlana Jellaludin Rumi and to a remarkable array of people whose lives have been transformed by his poetry and philosophy. Rumi: Turning Ecstatic is her true story, a timely, powerful docudrama that take the viewer into the very heart of Sufi mysticism.

Paul (Macfadyen), a prize-winning war journalist, returns to his remote New Zealand hometown due to the death of his father, battle-scarred and world-weary. For the discontented sixteen-year-old Celia (Barclay) he opens up a world she has only dreamed of. She actively pursues a friendship with him, fascinated by his cynicism and experience of the world beyond her small-town existence. But many, including the members of both their families (Otto, Moy), frown upon the friendship and when Celia goes missing, Paul becomes the increasingly loathed and persecuted prime suspect in her disappearance. As the violent and urgent truth gradually emerges, Paul is forced to confront the family tragedy and betrayal that he ran from as a youth, and to face the grievous consequences of silence and secrecy that has surrounded his entire adult life.

A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce.

Xiaozhen used to be a pure, kind-hearted Christian, who always treated her friends sincerely. However, when it was to their benefit, her former friends became her enemies. After suffering this tragedy, Xiaozhen was forced to abandon her true heart and her former principles. She began to betray her own good conscience and good spirit, and wallowed in the mire of the evil world. … As she fell from grace and walked a path of depravity, she was trampled by the world and became riddled with scars and bruises. She had reached a dead end, and at her point of despair when she had given up all hope, Almighty God's sincere call finally awakened Xiaozhen's heart and spirit …

In 'A Brave New World', a virus brings the city to ruins and zombies flood the streets of Seoul. In 'The Heavenly Creature', a robot reaches enlightenment while working at a temple, but its creators deem this phenomenon a threat to mankind. In the final segment, 'Happy Birthday', a young girl logs onto a strange website and places an order for a new billiard ball for her father. Soon afterwards a meteor heads toward Earth and people flee to underground bomb shelters.

We follow the daily activities of Mother Teresa and her nuns, in service to the poor of India and the world. Mother Teresa attends to the basic needs of her nuns and the poor, while at the same time, balances her role as world-recognized leader. Throughout the film, we witness personal and "behind-the-scenes" events, including the blessing ceremony of a nun becoming part of Mother Teresa's "Sisters of the Poor" convent.

Bones of the Buddha is a 2013 television documentary produced by Icon Films and commissioned by WNET/THIRTEEN and ARTE France for the National Geographic Channels. It concerns a controversial Buddhist reliquary from the Piprahwa Stupa in Uttar Pradesh, India. It was released in May, 2013, and was broadcast in July 2013 in the US on PBS as part of the Secrets of the Dead series.

Aggie, A 67 year-old Black Cajun, has just stepped into her worst nightmare. Her two granddaughters have disappeared, and the only clue she possesses is a forgotten laptop. Aware she only has a short window of time, she feels helpless to save them as her money and influence are scarce. Desperate to get her girls back, Aggie risks everything to cross paths with Richard and Lottie DuMonde, two of the wealthiest and most connected people in New Orleans. Certainly, once they hear her story, they will help. But what Aggie doesn't foresee is the dark world she's about to step into, or the dangers accompanying the rescue needed to bring her girls home.

An American pilot is shot down over Nazi-occupied France and is taken to a convent by the Resistance. The young novice nun Clothilde is interested in him and is willing to help him escape to England, but the pilot must continue his mission undercover by posing as the husband of a different woman.

Sensitive Parts is a tender and sharply observed dramatic comedy about a young woman who is forced to confront her social anxiety and interpersonal fears before they consume her and the people she loves, with a little help along the way from the imaginary manifestation of an iconic popstar.

Mother Teresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is considered one of the greatest humanitarians of modern times. Her selfless commitment changed hearts, lives and inspired millions throughout the world. The Letters, as told through personal letters she wrote over the last 40 years of her life, reveal a troubled and vulnerable women who grew to feel an isolation and an abandonment by God.

Four interwoven meditations on the nature of time, memory, experience and the quest for spiritual enlightenment.

Philippa Talbot is a talented London businesswoman who has decided to give up her position and power to become a nun. The man who loves her is in shock over her departure from his life. When Philippa arrives at Brede, a cloistered Benedictine monastery, the abbess who was responsible for convincing her to enter this vocation suddenly dies. Her successor is Catherine, a sensitive leader who's the first to tell the newcomer to the community that all nuns are to love without a preference for one over another. This becomes very difficult when Joanna, a young nun, singles Sister Philippa out and grows very attached to her.

The story of an asylum seeker in England who, when confronted with the hostile immigration system in the UK, is forced to live on the fringes of society and rely on his bike to survive. Based on the lived experience of co-writer Ayman Alhussein.

An orphan left in the care of a Buddhist temple becomes attached to a young widow who arrives there to mourn her recently deceased son.

Pastor Joe, is a young family man who leads a church in an active city where he reaches out to the poor and destitute in any way he can. One day, a woman named Tasha comes to his church seeking for help. Pastor Joe sits down with her and she shares an intense life story. She shares how she was born, how she was set free from a world of drugs, racism, theft, and human trafficking. Her story becomes increasingly complex as people from her past come in contact with Pastor Joe with their own life struggles of suicide, teen pregnancy, and abortion. As their stories tie together it brings hope, redemption, and salvation to the forefront and gives us a picture of what it means to experience the transformation of God, going from darkness to light, and to continue on the narrow path each and every day.

On Michael and Gabby's first romantic get-away things takes a terrifying turn when God delivers unsettling news to Gabby after taking over Michael's body. Is Michael a manipulative psychopath or could this really be a direct experience with her creator offering a path to eternal happiness?

It was 1969 and America was embarking on the biggest adventure known to man - a voyage to the moon. Daniel too was pursuing the unknown; leaving the path of isolation he had traveled for so many years to embrace the love of another. The only question was would he be able maintain that road to glory or would he veer off course never to be seen again...

After witnessing the alien abduction of her mother as a child, Aurora joins the UFO cult "The Cosmic Dawn". At the cult's remote compound Aurora experiences miraculous revelations, and consciousness-expanding flowers but all isn't as it seems with the cult's leader, Elyse. Now moved on from the cult, Aurora is forced to confront her past and pursue the ultimate truth about The Cosmic Dawn.

A brilliant, but hermetic and hard-living woman discovers an anomalous cosmic force that projects the end of the universe to be a mere two weeks away. The terminal diagnosis for all existence compels her to confront her own fear and isolation, and leads her to pursue another woman who may offer the promise of salvation.

When Michelle Jamieson is accepted in the medical program at the University of Minnesota, she is eager to find her own path away from her deeply religious family. But when she stay in a Minneapolis mansion belonging to her family for generations, she begins to encounter strange and unexplainable occurrences. As she is forced to investigate, what she uncovers is a world of family secrets and unspeakable evils.