Buddhist history, a story about the tragedy of Tibetans in exile, a religious tour de force, the film follows two monks from Bhutan as they travel to Seattle to find a reincarnated Buddhist master amidst the back-story of the Buddha's search for enlightenment. A mesmerizing story that ranks alongside Herman Hesse's novel "Siddhartha", it echoes some of Bertolucci's wide-screen exoticism on The Last Emperor and The Sheltering Sky. Stunningly photographed by Vittorio Storaro (The Last Emperor), and accompanied by Ryuichi Sakamoto's (Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence) powerful score, this film works in beautifully mysterious ways.