Shambala

I was so disappointed with this film. I thought it could be better. This film has a message to tell but it failed.

The background of starting a journey is also ridiculous; the younger brother wanted to go to Tibet so as to fulfill a promise he gave to his girlfriend. While his partner in crime, the elder, agreed to joy his brother's long trip to Tibet so that he could escape from his work.

The scenery of Tibet is stunning. The main actors are also well-performed except for poor script.

What I don't like most is the diametrically opposed personalities of the two leading characters who are brothers. Although they are full siblings, they don't have anything in common at all. The story is trying to persuade audiences to believe that the two completely-have-nothing-in-common brothers finally can make peace because of "Shambala".

The word "Shambala" are often referred in the film. The characters refer to it as an on-earth paradise. It is highly praised and symbolize spiritual enlightenment.

I have ever been to Tibet. My experience is indescribable. I were missing Tibet so I watched this movie. I have watched Seven Years in Tibet. In term of storyteller, this movie is unmatchable.

As the story went on, I was very boring and fell asleep.

Audiences were misled about the death of Tin's girlfriend. The end of the story would be better if the story could build more tension. The conflicts between two brothers are not enough to create powerful climax and thus, the conclusion is unbelievable.

Last, I should have recommended this movie for the sake of supporting Thai movie industry. Unfortunately, I cannot think of any good reasons to do so.

I was so impressed with this film. Only once in a while there would be a Thai movie of superb quality, one that I think deserve to be nominated to international film festivals. This film has a message to tell and it is told so beautifully. The story started with two brothers, with very different personality, embarking on a journey to Thibet. Excellent cinematography captures the beauty of this faraway land and the mood of the film. The use of "Shambala" as a symbol of something that the characters are searching for is a great idea and was successful done, in my opinion. Ananda Everingham shines brightly in his role of drunken playboy with a hidden wounded heart. Sunny was fine in his role of a guilty young man who is about to lose his lover by cancer. The movie is slow-pace but it's not boring. We watch these two brothers struggling with something inside of themselves, knowing deeply that there is something hidden beyond the surface. As the story unfolds, I was deeply touched and moved, and the conclusion at the end is just perfect.

This movie doesn't only make me want to visit Thibet, but it makes me feel that Shambala, or the New Kingdom of Heaven, or Utopia, or whatever name one may call, it is actually a place existing in the soul of men, and we all have a pathway that will lead us to it, no matter what religion or nationality we are. Everyone has a darkness inside, a sin that needs to confess, let go, so that our life can start over again.

Highly recommended, if you ask me.