Movie Review (Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint)
Written and Directed by: Neten Chokling Rinpoche 90 minutes, Tibetan with English subtitles Distributed by: Shining Moon Productions (2006)
by Joseph Lyman
There are few films today that compare with the recently released film Milarepa. There are no shoot-outs, no strategically planned super crimes. No drug deals gone wrong, leading to a hyper-paced chase scene. Without any of these elements, Milarepa is a thoughtful well crafted film that deals with the issue of personal responsibility.
Neten Chokling Rinpoche’s feature film is a work of uncommon skill and beauty. Filmed in the exquisite setting of Northern India, the picturesque background itself becomes a part of a larger story. Interestingly, the film was not made in Tibet because the Chinese government forbids superstitious depictions in film.
What some might consider slow-paced is nothing more or less than the simply told tale of the Buddhist master Milarepa. The first part of the film deal with the early years of Milarepa’s life. The emotional story of the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent descent into destitution has elements that are timeless and unconfined by their cultural surroundings.
Impoverished by the hands of family members, his mother’s desire for revenge borders on madness. She coerces Milarepa to seek training in the black arts. Once proficient, he returns to his village, destroying most of it and killing dozens of inhabitants. But this is a bitter victory for our hero. Almost immediately, he regrets his actions and perceives the futility of the violence. He is happy with neither the outcome, nor his own actions. There is a wonderfully emotional moment that follows his act of terror when a local village woman sits by him, silently weeping.
He flees the wrath of the survivors and takes refuge with a Buddhist monk who tells him, “Your enemies arise from your own mind. To conquer them, cease negative actions, cultivate positive ones, and tame your mind.” Haunted by images of the pain and suffering he caused, Milarepa starts to question his motivation and understanding.
In the end, the film leaves Milarepa as he begins his journey towards enlightenment. Those familiar with the story know his travels have only begun. The sequel is set to be released in 2009. The story of Milarepa’s life is one of the most commonly told tales in Tibet and is a cautionary tale, but ultimately one of hope and redemption. The 11th-century practitioner spent his later years working through the karma he accumulated in his early life.
As director Chokling commented, “People who feel kind of hopeless because of (mistakes they’ve made) in their lives. The key is that (Milarepa) was so ordinary and that he stuck to this path. He was completely determined to make a huge amount of progress. To prove that the worst person like him can (become) enlightened. That there is no one who is beyond redemption.”1
Not everyone today will consider Milarepa’s story ordinary, but everyone can appreciate the depth of his encounter with karma and his mind on its way to enlightenment.
- The Orange County Register, Monk Brings Tale of ‘the Sinner’s Saint’ to Screen, September 19, 2007 ↩︎
