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07/24/08
Milarepa (2007)
36 %
Reviews Counted: 25 Fresh: 9 Rotten:16 Average Rating: 5.2/10
Consensus:
Milarepa’s confusing plot structure, simplistic message, and poor production values cause it to fall flat.
Runtime: 90 mins
Synopsis: In 11th century Tibet, a saint was born among the mountains. This Bhutanese film follows the baby boy who would become Milarepa, a man who overcame family tragedy and poverty to become a great spiritual icon. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Orgyen Tobgyal, Kelsang Chukie Tethong, Jamyang Lodro
Director: Neten Chokling
Screenwriter: Neten Chokling, Tenzing Choyang Gyari
Producer: Raymond Steiner
Composer: Joel Diamond
Screenwriter: Neten Chokling, Tenzing Choyang Gyari
Producer: Raymond Steiner
Composer: Joel Diamond
Reviews
Top Critic
By-the-book mythmaking: stately, straightforward and not too interesting. The story . . . falls flat on film, a moody, visual medium, tremendously difficult to rework into a mirror for introspective, spiritual transformation.
12/15/07
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11/26/07
instructional value and exposure to Tibetan culture and values make this a worthwhile venture
11/04/07
Viewers with a pre-established interest in 11th-century Tibetan history should find Milarepa fascinating, but those without won't find much to engage them in this nicely shot but stilted biopic of a legendary magician-turned-monk from that era.
11/02/07
Milarepa is a sort of Batman Begins version of the early life of renowned Tibetan saint Jetsun Milarepa (1052-1135).
11/02/07
The first of a two-part film about the life of an 11th-century Tibetan mystic, Milarepa evokes a time when sorcery was a poor man's way of making war, and the sight of yogis flying through the sky was commonplace.
11/01/07
Buddhism teaches that suffering is inseparable from existence. Suffering is certainly inseparable from the experience of watching Milarepa.
10/25/07
Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint, a picturesque fable filmed in the mountains of northern India, shows us how most -- if not all -- roads to spiritual enlightenment are paved with suffering.
10/11/07
Despite timely and worthwhile subject matter, there is nothing very inspired or inspiring in what makes it to the screen.
10/05/07
For enlightenment on Milarepa's life, we apparently have to wait for the sequel.
10/05/07
While the drama is rather poky, Jamyang Lordo plays the part with dignified restraint.
10/04/07
First-time filmmaker Neten Chokling, himself a great Tibetan meditation master, has made a remarkable film using nonprofessional actors and a mostly nonprofessional crew.
09/22/07
The movie's spectacular scenery and compelling message counterbalance the somewhat plodding pace and wooden performances by a cast of nonactors.
09/21/07
The movie is so oddly structured that it can’t sustain engagement on the story level; I wish I liked it more.
09/21/07
Milarepa fails to infuse freshness into the timeworn lesson that violence doesn’t pay; perhaps its subject’s path to goodness will provide a more enlightening cinematic outlet.
09/15/07
Top Critic
Those expecting a reflective Buddhist piece will be surprised. First-time director Neten Chokling's film actually is a powerful revenge drama. Despite the film's low budget, there's also spectacle, courtesy of the Himalayan locations.
09/14/07
Top Critic
The legend of Milarepa -- an exiled heir who sought revenge before finding dharma -- engages on a narrative level; however, Chokling’s direction fails to give the story any period texture or visceral emotion.
09/13/07
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