The World We Live In Samsara is the first featu…
The World We Live In
Samsara is the first feature film from Pan Nalin, and it’s fantastic. Set in Ladakh in the north of India, the film tells the story of Tashi, a young Buddhist monk who decides to leave his monastery in search of life beyond its walls. Tashi’s mind is first turned from his monastic studies by the attentions of a girl, and in one sense, Samsara is a contemporary update of St Augustine’s famous plea, “Make me chaste, Lord…but not yet”. But it’s also a staggeringly beautiful evocation of the landscape and lives of those who live within Ladakh, capturing the vastness of the Himalayas and the harshness of the desert as well as the fascinating pagantry of the monks’ rituals and their spectacular monastries which cling to the mountainsides. There are few films I would recommend on the strength of their cinematography alone, but this is one of them.
According to the excellent Samsara website, the film is due to come to Europe soon. It’s also available on DVD at DVDAsian.com - I got it for $21 including shipping, but you’ll need a multiregion player.
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