The Spirit Doesn’t Come Anymore
The practice of shamans invoking spirits/protectors to ward off evil and cure disease has been a significant feature of Tibetan social life for over a millennium. Considered an inborn faculty that needs only awakening, and channeling, the shaman’s art survives through his son or daughter.
Pao Wangchuk, 78, is the thirteenth in an unbroken line of spiritual mediums, living and practicing his craft this side of the Himalaya in the Tibetan camp in Pokhara, Nepal. The source of the old man’s despair is Karma, his eldest son and heir-to-be, who may not be able to continue the family calling. Karma, like many youth of today, is given to drinking and easy life, and can’t live up to the demands of being a spiritual healer. Also that this extraordinary vocation, by today’s gauge, seems an altogether alien track for Karma. In the conflict between the father and son, Pao constantly complains that Karma is wasting away his life, and is worried that family lineage will die. But Karma doesn’t care. He resents, and is frustrated by, his father’s constant complaining and mistrust. His frustration even led him to a suicide attempt once.
Film festivals and awards
- 1997 Best Film Award, Film South Asia (Festival of South Asian Documentary Films), Kathmandu, Nepal
- 1998 Best Indigenous Filmmaker of the Year Parnu Anthropological Film Festival, Estonia
- 1997 Leipzig Dokfestival, Germany
- 1997 9th Internationales Berg + Abenteuer Film Festival Graz, Austria
- 1998 Cinema du Reel, Paris, France
- 1998 Bilan Ethnographique, Paris, France
- 1998 Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong
- 1998 Telluride Mountain Film Festival (USA)
- 1998 Beeld Voor Beeld, Amsterdam Anthropological Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- 1998 Fukuoka International Film Festival (Focus On Asia), Japan
- 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Japan
- 2003 Himalayan Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Screenings
- 1998 Kino Xenix Theatre, Zurich, Switzerland
- 1998 National Film Theatre, London, England
- 2000 India International Center, New Delhi
- 2000 INPUT Conference Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 2001 INPUT Conference International, Cape Town, South Africa
Broadcasts
- 1998 Estonian TV, Estonia
- 2002 CUNY TV, New York, USA
Press comments on The Spirit Doesn’t Come Anymore:
“It is rare to find a film in which a filmmaker makes so many right choices throughout the film – where the camera attains a proximity even while it never loses sight of a crucial distance without being intrusive”
“An extraordinary portrait of a traditional Tibetan faith healer …and a sensitive exploration of relationships within his family”
“The chief appeal of the film is its intimate portrayal of the characters, and far from being turned off by Pao Wangchuk’s curmudgeonly, sometimes wicked, ways, he becomes a memorable character. Rhitar’s film also works because it has a storyline, unlike most documentaries. The earthy, unjudging Tibetan humor is in strong form in this film”
“A multi-faceted portrait of an unusual family emerges, augmented by the views of villagers, patients, neighbors and friends”