By Jennifer Merin

Milarepa
Directed by Neten Chokling

On his deathbed, a wealthy man entrusts his brother to look after his widow and young son and safeguard his fortune for his son to inherit upon coming of age. The brother squanders the fortune for his own pleasure, however, and treats his sister-in-law and nephew like slaves. After years of hard work and near-starvation, the widow asks that the fortune be given to her son, who is now a grown man. The brother refuses. The widow arranges for her son to take revenge.

This simple plot is not unfamiliar to moviegoers, but it’s unlikely they’ve seen it presented as it is in Milarepa, a sort of spiritual biopic about Mila Thopaga, an 11th-century monk, who is still one of the most revered teachers in the history and tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a humble man who became an extraordinary yogi.

According to legend, Thopaga took revenge against his wicked uncle through sorcery, the poor man’s weapon. In the film, he finds a teacher, masters the dark arts, causes a great storm that destroys his enemies, and immediately feels enormous remorse about the pain and suffering he’s caused. He seeks guidance to find a better path, and becomes Milarepa, the monk.

Whether you believe in sorcery or not, Milarepa is a magical film: Characters paint symbols on their soles so they can walk with the speed of wind, they cross the screen as shimmering and transparent clouds of dust, they levitate rocks, move mountains, cause thick fog that clouds the minds of those who would harm them and summon huge storms with striking displays of lightening. Even more spectacular, all of this is achieved without a big budget, CG, pyrotechnics or animatronics. The effects are stunning in their simplicity. Then, as Milarepa sits in meditation, we are treated to a fascinating, wonder-filled cinematic representation of enlightenment.

Perhaps the film is so successful in presenting transcendent elements because the film’s director, Neten Chokling, understands these things better than most. He is, in fact, a Tibetan lama, trained within the lineage of masters that goes back to Milarepa, who has moviemaker chops. Sensitive and exquisite cinematography reveals the mystical majesty of mountaintops (the film was shot with northern India to substitute for Tibet) and intimately captures the actors’ truly mythic performances.