Acclaimed Bhutan-born filmmaker Khyentse Norbu (The Cup) will grab attention with that title, though the mystic-tinged drama to which it comes affixed (with George Harrison's widow Olivia listed as one of the executive producers) is a bit of an acquired taste, being a total immersion in the culture of modern, cosmopolitan Nepal, unfolding largely in long, formal takes. With occasional time-outs for Tibetan lute recitals.
In Kathmandu, bustling with tourists—mostly western "yellow-haired people" seeking Enlightenment, or just selfie opportunities, or drugs—native Tenzin (Tsering Tashi Gyalthang), a young entrepreneur, has used his mother's savings and a handful of partners in launching yet another coffeehouse to cash in on tourists. In the process, he invades a deserted space that once served as a temple to a Buddhist goddess. That may or may not be why he starts seeing curious visions (ordinary inserts; there are no f/x blasts here), such as rains of rose petals or odd-looking women.
A very modern monk (with headphones and an iPad) informs Tenzin these are omens of his approaching death in just a few days. Tenzin consults another, grouchier holy man who informs the youth that escape from fate is possible if Tenzin takes something personal from a "Dakini," a paranormal female entity embodying the Buddhist "sacred feminine." Tenzin's westernized mind finds it all hard to comprehend, but gradually he becomes obsessed with finding a Dakini, potential clues being a lady with fangs and a mustache, of course.
In the process, he supposedly sheds his materialist-businessman view of the world to recommit to his ancestral Buddhism. But what many yellow-haired viewers may discern is merely little more than a guy frightened by folklore into doing whatever he can to save himself. The subdued finale, unsurprisingly, gives mixed clues for one to decide whether Dakinis were ever really involved, though the message is that the ordeal serves as a growth experience for the spiritually vacant protagonist.
What should not be questioned is the use of Nepalese locations and attitudes, real-life temples, and the throngs of seekers coming to the Himalayan kingdom to find their own personal Shang-rilas (or selfies, or drugs), yielding a portrait of life in this storied land more vivid than the typical National Geographic pictorial. For that privilege, alone viewers can be grateful. How much more they take away from the material, however, only a high lama may say.
A strong optional purchase for international collections, who may consider how little Nepal is generally represented in English-language cinema, outside of mountaineering or abominable-snowman fare. Aud: P.