Plots(1)
Laos. Dozens of teenagers are living and studying together in Buddhist temples. A young man crosses the river every day to read a text to an elderly woman that serves as a guide for finding one’s way through the afterlife. When the woman dies, her spirit begins a sensory journey towards reincarnation in its next body. To complete the journey, you have to entrust yourself to be carried away by the sound and light. In this conversation held on the border between life, death and meditation, Lois Patiño continues his exploration of the image as an immersive experience. As in a film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation coincides with the experience of watching. The act of seeing and of telling stories becomes a unique visionary experience that literally leads the viewer into another dimension. (Berlinale)
(more)Videos (5)
Reviews (1)
A Zen spiritual film with a magical atmosphere and emphasis on the motif of sleep and dreams. Watching it is akin to having a transcendental experience. After the first half, which takes place among monks in a Laotian monastery and the surrounding area, the film invites viewers to take part in accompanying the soul of a deceased elderly woman into the next life. The second half of the film comes with an endearing point and a fundamental change of location, though it also contains unnecessary additional literalness and less interesting action. Full of poetic melancholy, Samsara is a remarkable meditative film that offers deep thoughts and several original and understated creative concepts. Ideally, however, it would have ended shortly after its original, unconventional and long-resonating middle section.
()
Gallery (21)
Photo © Atalante Cinema
