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Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint

Plays like a Wikipedia page

By NICK MCCARTHY | October 3, 2007

1.0 Stars

MILAREPA: Mountains, monks, and wailing women, but not the teachings of Milarepa.

All mountains, monks, and a soundtrack of wailing women, Neten Chokling’s film opens with the announcement of a birth. The father of this child exclaims, “This is joyful news!”, and he names the child Thopa Ga, which the subtitle translates as “joyful news.” Thus begins Chokling’s interpretation of the most inspirational saint in Tibet’s history. Although it’s believed that Thopa Ga, who will later become known as Milarepa, faced adversity throughout his life, there’s no sense of suffering here beyond the tiny amount of dirt that accumulates on his face. Despite a photogenic landscape, Milarepa plays like a Wikipedia page, with Chokling using Thopa Ga’s timeline as a cinematic checklist. Trite words of wisdom are scattered throughout the pedantry, the most repeated being “Don’t look back.” Good advice to the viewer, since this simplistic version of Milarepa’s life and teachings against greed and violence leaves little to reflect on.

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ARTICLES BY NICK MCCARTHY

NEVER FOREVER | May 21, 2008
Although Kim has her pulse on religious, racial, and social conflict, she relies too much on contrived plotting.

ROMAN DE GARE | May 16, 2008
Claude Lelouch is a fabulous fibber.

BLINDSIGHT | March 12, 2008
Six sightless Tibetan students take a demanding field trip toward equality via Lhakpa Ri, a 23,000-foot peak on the north side of Everest. Blindsight, however, impedes more than it inspires.

GRACE IS GONE | January 23, 2008
It’s strange that a film whose young characters are told to question the media should rely on its score to dictate how you’ll feel.

MILAREPA: MAGICIAN, MURDERER, SAINT | October 03, 2007
All mountains, monks, and a soundtrack of wailing women, Neten Chokling’s film opens with the announcement of a birth.

See all articles by: NICK MCCARTHY

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