| Samsara | |
|---|---|
film poster |
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| Directed by | Pan Nalin |
| Produced by | Fandango / Ocean Films Distribution / Pandora Film / Paradis Films |
| Written by | Pan Nalin & Tim Baker |
| Starring | Shawn Ku & Christy Chung & Neelesha BaVora |
| Music by | Cyril Morin |
| Release date(s) | 2002 |
| Running time | 138 minutes |
| Language | Tibetan / Ladakhi |
Samsara is a 2001 independent Indian/Italian/French/German film which tells the story of a Buddhist monk's quest to find Enlightenment. The film stars Shawn Ku as the monk Tashi, and Christy Chung as Pema. It was directed by Pan Nalin and written by Pan and Tim Baker.
The film's plot is reminiscent of the story of Vishvamitra and Menaka.
Samsara was awarded "Audience Award for The Most Popular Film" by the 51st Melbourne International Film Festival, among other awards from other festivals, and made it to top ten films in Italy and France.[1]
A spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Samsara is a quest; one man's struggle to find spiritual Enlightenment by renouncing the world. And one woman's struggle to keep her enlightened love and life in the world. But their destiny turns, twists and comes to a surprise ending..
Tashi (Shawn Ku) has been raised as a Buddhist monk since age five. When he gets erotic phantasms as an adolescent, his spiritual master decides it's time to taste profane life, sending him on a journey in the real Himalayan world. Once he is told his hottest dream was real, Tashi decides to leave the monastery and marries Pema (Christy Chung), the daughter of a rich farmer, who was actually engaged with local stonemason Jamayang (Kelsang Tashi). The ex-lama soon becomes a rich land-owner himself, and makes a killing from his harvest by bringing it to the city instead of selling at half price to the local merchant Dawa (Lhakpa Tsering), but half of his next harvest perishes in a fire, yet he comes through and raises a bright son, Karma (Tenzin Tashi). After committing infidelity, contemplated for years, and as he later hears from the promiscuous Indian labourer girl named Sujata (Neelesha BaVora), Tashi reconsiders his life.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196069/plotsummary