In a magnificent film that manages to combine elements of Shakespeare
and a National Geographic special, Eric Valli tells the story of Tinle,
the leader of a Nepalese village, who upon the death of his son (and presumed
successor) engages in a power struggle with Karma, a young rebel against
tradition. Karma's family has some sin their past, which I don't think
is ever explained, so Tinle is distrustful of him anyway, but this bad
blood is
only exacerbated because Karma was on the salt gathering trip where
his son died. Of Tinle's other sons, one is too young, Tsering, and
the other is a Buddhist monk, Norbou, so neither can take over for him.
Instead, Tinle determines to lead the caravan of yaks on the annual salt-trading
trek himself, despite his advancing years. Karma, defying the omen-reading
of the village's lamas, gathers some of the younger men and leads them
and the yaks off with Tinle and a motley party, including both sons, in
hot (or bitterly cold) pursuit.
Mr. Valli has spent close to two decades photographing in the Dolpo
region of Nepal (for
National Geographic it is no surprise to learn) and
for this film he used mostly local non-actors. He's reverent
of the culture of the people, appropriately awed by the setting, and, amazingly
enough, manages to convey it all on film. But don't worry, it's
not some social studies project. When Tinle takes a treacherous shortcut
to try and catch up with Karma it's as exciting as any Hollywood thriller.
Though he's a difficult man, almost Lear-like in his determination to
dictate events after he passes, we root for Tinle, over the disrespectful
Karma. But when Norbou offers the lesson of the film--"When two paths
open up before you, always choose the hardest one"--we see that the two
men, though locked in a generational clash, are more alike than they or
we first realized and that there's an unexpected continuity to the life
of the villagers, a circularity entirely appropriate to their religious
beliefs, or vice versa. The film ends up being as lovely in spiritual
terms as it is in physical terms, and that's saying something.
