Malila: The Farewell Flower (2017) Reviews

• From drunk to monk

  chong_an2018-05-28

  This is a story in 2 acts, that are almost separated from each other. Backstory: Shane and Pitch were lovers. Pitch left the village for the city, but Shane refused to follow. Instead, Shane married, saw his daughter die, and his wife left him because of his drinking. Now they reunite, with Pitch dying of cancer. Rejecting medical treatment as painful and ineffective, Pitch feels better when he creates structures of flowers and banana leaves. Meanwhile, Shane's offering is to become a Buddhist monk, to build karma for Pitch to either keep him alive or to help in his afterlife. Act 1 is the love story. Act 2 is Shane's learning to be a travelling monk, following a veteran in collecting alms, learning to concentrate in meditation, and spending nights in the forest, frequently suffering thru rainstorms. It may make better sense to someone who is Buddhist, who can better accept a philosophy of the impermanence of all things, but I just had trouble emotionally connecting the 2 parts.

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• Beautiful and mysterious

  pollak10002018-11-09

  I agree with chong_an in many ways, but I found this film very beautiful and haunting. The flower creations are gorgeous, as is the actor playing Pitch. The problems of cancer treatment are very current, as is mindfulness (and for me, the reminder about eating in an aware manner was timely). As usual, I found some parts difficult to follow. What happened to the monk who was training Shane? Did he die, and if so, why/how? The love between Shane and Pitch was really credible, and the love-making scene very nicely done. Finally, kudos to the sound track.

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