Samsara
Manager: Lois Patino
Artists: Cross by Keomany, Toumour Xiong, Simone Milavanh
Year: 2023
Premiere: 12/20/23
★★★
This work positions itself within what some call the new wave of Galician cinema, standing alongside notable voices such as Lois Patiño, Oliver Laxe, Diana Toucedo, and Eloy Enciso. Its most widely recognized film, and a cornerstone of this emerging cinematography, is Costa da Morte, a documentary that follows fishermen and laborers in that coastal region of Galicia. Exactly a decade after that project, the filmmaker steps outside established theoretical terrain to tell a tale about the transmigration of the soul, set across Laos and Tanzania. The pacing, voice performances, and occasional elements of fantasy in the opening act evoke certain resonances with the sensibilities of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, while remaining distinctly his own.
The narrative unfolds with a documentary-like precision, presenting day-to-day life among Buddhist novices in a temple and a young man reading aloud to a dying woman. He shares a book that will serve as his guide in what lies beyond. It may not be the most striking portion of the film, but the central section offers a compelling lens on migration staged through moving images: first rendered in deep shadows, then emerging through layers of vivid color, and finally through pulsating strobe effects. These luminous sequences echo the visual play found in Gaspar Noé’s craft, yet they carry a unique meaning here, tied to a journey beyond the mortal plane. The later segments then shift to Africa, to themes of reincarnation, and are followed by another exploration of texture and perception in the medium of film.