Manakamana

Made under the auspices of Harvard's Sensory Ethnographic Lab, filmmakers Pacho Vlez and Stephanie Spray's non-narrative nonfiction think-piece was made by placing a 16mm camera in a cable car carrying pilgrims, tourists, and others over lush mountain countryside in Nepal to and from a (never seen) famous temple. Spliced seamlessly together, the 10-minute real-time segments here capture a diversity of passengers in various attitudes. A group of native women tell each other a rather garbled version of the religious fable behind the temple. Three young Nepalese men in a rock band toy with their digital devices and their pet cat and consider making an impromptu music-video (they don't, but two old men with traditional string instruments later do). Others, such as a wizened senior and a young boy, simply sit serenely as the majestic, surreal landscapes trail behind them. Viewers who are not bored stiff by the concept may be intrigued by the elemental suspense: wondering just who will get in the compartment next? At one point it's a group of nervous goats, while another centers on a pair of cosmopolitan young ladies who start speaking English to each other mid-journey. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by filmmakers Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez, additional cable car rides (34 min.), trailers, and a booklet featuring an essay by Museum of the Moving Image editorial director Dennis Lim, and a director Q&A. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an interesting fly-on-the-wall documentary.] (C. Cassady)