Manakamana
Jun 20 - Jun 26, 2014
(Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez, Nepal/USA, 2013, 118 min)
A formal accomplishment as grand as the heights of the mountains it climbs, this ethnographic documentary is set entirely on a cable car that transports pilgrims through the mountains of Nepal towards their destination: the famous Manakamana Temple.
Formally pristine (composed of a series of medium frontal shots, roughly 8-9 minutes each in length, with gorgeous views outside the cable car over the Trisuli valley), what occurs in the film is a slowly emerging meditation on age, faith and class. Each wobble of the car on the cable, each moment between the inhabitants—some tense, some loving—takes on a larger and more metaphysical meaning. In Manakamana, the microscopic contains multitudes.
"an exultant work of engaging cinema. . .might be the most invigorating film you’ll see all year, a work of both hypnotic calm and ecstatic imagination." —The Restless Critic
"the must-see cinematic experience of the year" —Indiewire
"What we see and enjoy is the king of cinema: the human visage" —The Stranger
MANAKAMANA - A new film from the Sensory Ethnography Lab from Sensory Ethnography Lab on Vimeo.