About

High on the Tibetan plateau, a rakish modern nomad called Jinpa rattles along a desolate road in a rickety truck, listening to Italian opera on an old cassette tape. Even as the extended opening sequence captures the tedium of long-haul travel, the charismatic lead actor is utterly riveting. The truck driver is played by a taciturn performer known only as Jinpa and music is his sole companion until a hitchhiker asks for a ride. Realising they both have the same name, they exchange stories. Jinpa is produced by acclaimed director Wong Kar Wai whose aesthetic sensibility is palpable in the arresting style and thematic ambiguities, yet the lonely landscape of the film is one that the Coen brothers could easily inhabit. Writer-director Pema Tseden won best screenplay at the Venice International Film Festival for the script, the title of which translates as “killer” in reference to an incident when Jinpa runs over a sheep and broods over the karmic repercussions. Jinpa may be a killer, but his name also means generosity of spirit. This duality of meaning travels through the offbeat road movie to its powerful ending, which calls into question the liminal boundaries between coincidence and destiny, calamity and culpability. JS

Ages 15+ | Adult themes, mild impact violence