Samsara, written and directed by Pan Nalin, and released 2001, starts off with a young boy watching a herd of sheep when an eagle comes by and drops a rock on one of the cattle, killing it. With such a weird beginning, it is assumed that the main story line will follow the same suit, where in reality the whole movie is easy to follow and is actually quite pleasurable to watch as a whole. Of course, the little boy at the beginning, we discover to be the main character of the film whose name is Tashi. Tashi, starting at the age of five spends his entire early years in the presence of other Buddhist monks and learning their way of life. Eventually living the life of monks, although filled with exciting adventures like helping a man who has been meditating for a little over three years, takes a toll that is too big on Tashi and he is sent out into the world to experience the life that he dreams about having. Although the dreams that fill Tashi head are overexerted and idealistic he is convinced that they are real and to the viewer's amazement Tashi finds himself a perfect girl, perfect career, and all the money he could ever ask for. However, what goes around comes around, eventually, and Tashi's life begins to fall apart starting with the burning of half of his crop the next year. Soon after he falls for another woman, this time choosing a poor Indian girl, Tashi eventually discovers that the correct place to be the entire time is away from love, lust, and riches and decides to head back to the ministry he originated from to find the true life he has been missing the entire time. Overall, the best part of Samsara is the idea that to discover true enlightenment and direction a person must delve into the culture that is all around him and through that he/she will be made new, and open their eyes to the true meaning and way of life. Though even if one's personal opinion differs from that ideology, Samsara is a great movie to watch simply to increase one's knowledge of Buddhist culture and delve into new ideas of how to be a better and smarter human being.
