Milarepa Reviews

One tonic for a stressful day: Spend 90 minutes with an 11th-century Tibetan mystic who wanders through gorgeous Himalayan scenery

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

Earnestly capturing in spirit the emergence of a holy man.

Full Review | Original Score: A-

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.

instructional value and exposure to Tibetan culture and values make this a worthwhile venture

Full Review | Original Score: B-

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.

Full Review | Original Score: C+

Milarepa is a sort of Batman Begins version of the early life of renowned Tibetan saint Jetsun Milarepa (1052-1135).

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

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.

Full Review | Original Score: B

Buddhism teaches that suffering is inseparable from existence. Suffering is certainly inseparable from the experience of watching Milarepa.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4

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.

Full Review

Despite timely and worthwhile subject matter, there is nothing very inspired or inspiring in what makes it to the screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4

For enlightenment on Milarepa's life, we apparently have to wait for the sequel.

| Original Score: 2.5/4

Milarepa is surprisingly flat and unexciting.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

While the drama is rather poky, Jamyang Lordo plays the part with dignified restraint.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

First-time filmmaker Neten Chokling, himself a great Tibetan meditation master, has made a remarkable film using nonprofessional actors and a mostly nonprofessional crew.

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The movie's spectacular scenery and compelling message counterbalance the somewhat plodding pace and wooden performances by a cast of nonactors.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

The movie is so oddly structured that it can't sustain engagement on the story level; I wish I liked it more.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

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.

| Original Score: 2/5

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.

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.

Full Review

The film's lavish production cannot compensate for the simplistic story and message.

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