This is a very Japanese and Zen Buddhist film. The observations are almost painfully clear and intense, there is great attention to detail, it is highly ritualized and formal, and moves very slowly. To be appreciated, it must be viewed as a totality, rather than as a linear story with a beginning and an end. It is a snapshot stretched over 2 hours, and very much "there". It's a lot like a Zen garden, and most Americans will probably find it boring, but if you're into the peculiar Japanese view of time, it's such a beautiful film, it almost hurts.