Samsara (2001)

Samsara: Directed by Pan Nalin. With Shawn Ku, Christy Chung, Neelesha Barthel, Lhakpa Tsering. A spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Samsara is a quest; one man’s struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment by renouncing the world. And one woman’s struggle to keep her enlightened love and life in the world. But their destiny turns, twists and comes to a surprise ending…

“This film is about a Buddhist monk who decided to give up his monastery life and marry a woman to satisfy his sexual desires. The film was shot in northern India. The scenery, buildings, culture and the people were so similar to Tibet, that many viewers wondered if the film was really shot in India.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI watched this film in the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The film director Mr Pan Nalin and the leading actress, Miss Christy Chung were present to let the spectators to ask questions or to raise some comments about this film. I thought it was a very good idea, and during the Qu0026amp;A session there were so many people asking sensible and thought provoking questions that made the whole film watching experience almost a spiritual experience.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe way that the story unfolded was very well planned too. In the beginning the film posed a question: u0026quot;How to prevent a drop of water from ever drying up?u0026quot;. In the end, the monk faced a dilemma of whether to go back to his monastery or to go back to his wife. Either way he would have to betray the other party. Therefore he seeked an answer from this riddle. The answer was u0026quot;Throw the drop of water into the oceanu0026quot;. For me, I think that this means that the monk needs to go back to the religion, and leave his wife and children behind. This is because, to prevent himself from being lost and confused, he should go back to where he belong. Obviously, this is my interpretation of the film, and it may not necessarily be right.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film was entirely in Tibetan. I think this is such an achievement to make a film in Tibetan! This made the film so authentic, as if it is a documentary about a monk. In addition, the scenery was so beautiful in the film. I have always loved the mountain landscape, and this film provided many mountains for me to admire. Another point I like about this film is that, it didnu0026#39;t have a lot of conversation, but the story and the emotion can be clearly communicated to the spectators.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film is powerful and beautiful. It is also spiritual, unlike a commercial film which aims to make money. It provokes people to think, and to reflect upon their own life. However, if you do not like Tibet or understand about Buddhism, then this film may be boring.”