Milarepa (2006)

Critic Reviews

• Desson Thomson, Washington Post

  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.

• Janice Page, Boston Globe

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

• Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

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

• David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

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

• Laura Kern, New York Times

  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.

• Richard James Havis, Hollywood Reporter

  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.

• Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com

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

• Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  Earnestly capturing in spirit the emergence of a holy man.

• Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

  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.

• John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

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

• Marc Mohan, Oregonian

  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.

• Tom Keogh, Seattle Times

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

• Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

  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.

• Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star

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

• Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune

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

• Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City

  Milarepa is surprisingly flat and unexciting.

• Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan

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

Read all 17 critic reviews