Milarepa ***

Directed by Neten Chokling. With Jamyang Lodro, Kelsang Chukie Tethtong and Tashi Choedon Gyari. Distributed by Shining Moon/Luminous Velocity. 1 hour, 30 mins. In Tibetan with subtitles.

PG

(violence, adult themes). Playing at Ritz at the Bourse.

A parable about revenge and revelation set in the Tibetan highlands more than 900 years ago, Milarepa combines elements of a Hollywood horse opera and Old Testament tribulation with Buddhist philosophy about positivity and karma.

As the opening text explains, the 11th-century Milarepa (Jamyang Lodro) is a key figure in the spiritual lore of Buddhism. Born as Thopaga in a mountain village, the boy's fortunes went south when his wealthy father died, leaving everything - including the care of wife and son - to a selfish, powder-snorting uncle and ornery aunt. The widow Kargyen (Kelsang Chukie Tethtong), with Thopaga and a younger sister, suffer as virtual slaves, surviving on scraps as the uncle and aunt gamble away the inheritance promised to Thopaga when he becomes a man.

Encouraged by his mother, who seeks vengeance for the cruelty she's suffered, the teenage Thopaga goes off to study sorcery with a master. There are desert journeys, a mountain-pass pony chase, and a few digital special effects that are charming in their simplicity.

The Bhutanese production helmed by the actor, director and Buddhist monk Neten Chokling, has a stock, storybook quality to it, but it's a tone befitting the sage life-lessons offered herein. A sequel, which follows Thopaga/Milarepa's journey from sorcerer's apprentice to monk's disciple and beyond, is promised for 2009. - Steven Rea