MILAREPA

The only Bhutan film screening at the festival this year brought a breathtaking landscape and the magic of sorcery and finding inner self peace to the screen. By the same person who brought us "Travellers and Magicians" recently, the film takes place in the mountainous countryside where a woman seeks revenge on her brother in law and his wife when they refuse to return her son's inheritance. As her son goes off to fulfill his mother's desire of revenge for sorcery, the filmmaker takes us on a stunning tour of the land. The magic and visual effects are equally beautifully and surrealistically done in that the overall film lulls us into the story. Traditional music and vocals also play a key role in creating an ethereal serene, yet loneliness to that world. It was hard to imagine that the 97 minutes had gone by as the end of the film leaves the audience wanting more. And fear not, part 2 is said to be released in 2009.