Review of Manakamana (2013) by Tor M — 19 Mar 2015
What an incredible film. I should say this at the outset: the biggest pitfall is to judge this film with Hollywood (or even Western) aesthetics in mind. Calling this film "boring" is the symptom of a Michael Bay disease.
Calling it "boring" presupposes that the film exists to entertain...which it certainly does not. When criticizing the film, we should pretend the filmmakers weren't even there. In fact, we really get the sense that there is no camera - you see what any other passenger would see.
The fact that you don't see the Manakamana temple makes it all that more mysterious. What we do get from the film are pilgrims in the 21st century visiting a 17th century temple which represents an ancient religion.
This is not a film that depends on whether or not the viewer "likes" it or not. What we see are many seemingly different passengers; however, they are, in a way, all made the same by climbing the hills in the cable car.
We never see the temple. Westerners wouldn't believe there is a goddess there. But how can we know she isn't there?
This review of Manakamana (2013) was written by Tor M on 19 Mar 2015.
Manakamana has generally received positive reviews.
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