I just saw this film, I came across it quite by accident. I admit I am quite surprised that you see this film as stilted due to its attempt to accurately tell the scriptural story. In my opinion, this film is a very successful attempt to convey the message of conversion from a misguided path, a conversion that the buddha made possible many times and with many people. In fact, I found the end of the movie most beautifully understated and imbued with a suprising depth of understanding into the buddha’s teaching. This, in my opinion, is a teaching film, with more than just ‘entertainment value’. But anyway, we all watch movies for our own reasons.