From the producers of David LaChapelle’s “Rize“ and with a remarkable soundtrack by Nitin Sawnhey, LIVING GODDESS offers a rich and gorgeously photographed view of a Nepalese world where, according to Hindu/ Buddhist tradition, three young girls are worshipped as living goddesses. The youngest, Sajani, is just 10, having been chosen by the high priest for been “blessed with the 32 perfections”. When Sajani is not been feted by worshippers and attending animal sacrifices, she’s just like any other child, playing with friends and having tea parties. The film begins as a sublime elegy to a private world of ritual, devotion and childish mischief but the extraordinary lives of these young girls are about to collide irreversibly with the modern world. The story turns epic as an ancient prophecy unfolds. An out-of-touch King who survived the notorious palace massacre of 2001 wrests power for himself, as a Maoist led civil war rages. Defying the King, ordinary people take to the streets demanding freedom only to be confronted by the might of the royal army. Caught in a whirlwind struggle for power, the story unfolds through the eyes of the child gods, the kumaris– a worldview shaped by omens and portents. The violence of the street slowly imposes on the historic way of life, as the filmmakers are allowed unprecedented access to the private rituals and daily life of this ancient tradition. |
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