Brian Perkins’ film Golden Kingdom is a visual meditation. Calm and simple yet intricate and stimulating, this emotional drama takes the viewer along on the spiritual journey of Ko Yin Witazara.
The eldest of four orphaned monks in training, Witazara is left in charge of his younger companions when the head monk, Sayadaw, is summoned to the nearest town. He attempts to maintain the firm lifestyle that Sayadaw instilled in him, but the younger boys soon sway him to let loose. As the days pass, their food supply depletes and ominous explosions begin to echo in the distance. Witazara has to make the choice of whether or not to follow after his master down the mountain pass in search of help.
The majority of the film is a series of walking scenes placed in changing landscapes. The metaphorical undertone of this journey cannot be ignored as Witazara’s path is laden with fearful encounters and allegorical characters that each offer a dose of wisdom to his burgeoning independence.
The source of Witazara’s fear is always vague and undefined. It is most often overcome through repetition of mantras from his training which suggests that the fear is internal and that the solution is mindfulness. Interspersed throughout these scenes are short cuts of artistic cinematography — branches swaying in the wind, ripples expanding on the water’s surface and a fern lit up in the early morning light.
Along with demonstrating Perkins’ creative direction, the slow the pace of the film produces the tranquil nature of Golden Kingdom. The scarce dialogue means that the emotions in the film are relayed through scene composition and the original soundtrack produced by David C. Hughes. This subjectivity allows each viewer a unique experience.
The film surveys the theme of life and death as a single entity through recurring dualities of light and dark, fire and water, and silence and sound. The characters Ko Yin Witazara chances upon all represent different facets of the concept of death — a dead man lying in a field, armed soldiers intent on causing death, an injured guest at the monastery who eventually passes away, and an old man searching for “the lord of death” by embarking on a fatal hike. The inevitability of death is presented in many ways to Witazara and yet he takes this knowledge with the realization that death is not something to be feared. The simplicity of the story allows for an unobstructed presentation of this idea.
Golden Kingdom is the first feature to be filmed and set in Myanmar in over 10 years. If it’s not enticing enough to view the film for a rare glimpse of the breathtaking Burmese landscape, then watch it for the rewarding and enlightening experience that you will obtain.