If you do get opportunity to see Valley's Director's Cut don't miss it. However, If you are going to see the butchered version of 2hr then you better visit the official website of the film (http://www.skydesign.in/archive/Monsoon_Films/) and understand the story and background. Here the online free version
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL204870DC321128C7 Valley Of Flowers (2006) Directed by Pan Nalin What a breathtaking view: horses galloping through the dust of the wide, arid desert valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas! How difficult the filming in such heights of up to 5000 meter must have been Valley has a Japanese MANGA an Ang Lee's wuxia film like quality and an interwoven web of deep Asian philosophy. Rarely a theme of love, longing and immortality has been so well depicted before a hymn to harmony in nature, balance among demons and humans, good and evil, life and death, black and white. It is a poetic telling of reincarnation and karma. Palin invites us inside with warm Asian hospitality but does not give us keys to all the doors There are breathtaking moments in Valley like appearance of Ushna, levitated lovemaking, valley of silence, time-walk and final climax in Japan. Cinematography is superb and the casting is near perfect. Himalayan landscapes are awesome. Towards the end the entire resolution of the saga happens in modern-day Tokyo and that is destructive and divine like most Asian myths. Pan Nalin's regard on Tokyo and Japan is very sensitive and subtle. The film is full of codes, most are difficult to decipher unless you pay close attention. Followers of Eastern Religion and Philosophy will be able to point out these symbols.. Valley isa very bold step in unexplored territories and comes out strong as a scriptwriter , director, filmmaker with exceptional talent and with guts (connect the faith in the rebirth of a debate on euthanasia.-"Real life Aghoris and Yogis are in the cast, some of the highest shots ever taken for a fiction film at the altitude of approx. 6,600 metres (20,000 feet) in the Himalayas,.to watch out for. In thisParallel Cinema Parallel Cinema IMHO Valley of Flowers invents its own "genre" -thus it is non-classifiable. Remind us of Antonioni's "The Passenger" -the lead, Jack Nicholson plays reporter who does his time in the desert and steals identity of a dead arm trafficker. Then he meets Maria Schneider character, love blossoms and together they travel into the oblivion... Like Jelan and Usna of Valley of Flowers Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain seems to be Western version of a similiar nonlinear and ambiguous story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world The Fountain ( death is the road to awe ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOZuQ_r3ROY BTW For the Theosophist on this forum:"Valley of Flowers"seems to be based on motifs of the novel, love spells and black magic: Adventures in Tibet (Original: Magic d'amour et magie noire) by Theosophist Mystic, anarchist, occultist and traveller, Louise Eugenie Alexandrine Marie David http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_David-N%C3%A9el http://www.alexandra-david-neel.org/images/dn73.jpg ONLINE BOOK :Alexandra David-Neel:Explorer at the Roof of the World http://books.google.com/books?id=FHo1fFHartsC&pg=PA8&hl=de&source=gbs_to\ c_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false http://tinyurl.com/3e7ad4x On the 28th February 1973, the ashes of 101 years old !Alexandra David-Neel, the" first western woman" to enter Tibet, along with those of her adopted son, Lama Yongden, were scattered over the waters of the Ganges at the holy city of Benares. On 15 October, 1982, and from May 21 to 26, 1986, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) paid her tribute by coming to Digne to visit her house. Samten-Dzong now contains a museum and is the head office of The Alexandra David-Néel Cultural Centre. Visitors to the museum can see Alexandra's arm chair, cane, a necklace of gold coins from Prince Sidkeong of Sikkim, and meditation beads from the Gomchen of Lachen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEF_BZKPN0Q http://www.alexandra-david-neel.org/anglais/acca.htm
