In Nepal, young girls are worshipped as incarnations of goddesses who protect the king; but the king himself is an autocratic tyrant, under threat from demonstrators and Maoists. This film's strength lies in its simple juxtaposition of two sets of very different images, taking place in the very same streets. At first, this seems a little artificial, but as the scale of the crisis that overcame Nepal in 2006 grows, the justification for this film's structure grows clearer. As for the practice itself, to a western it appears barbaric (the girls are spoilt, but forced to drink ritual offerings of alcohol and watch the mass slaughtering of bulls); yet in some ways, the goddesses are surprisingly normal yet still convincing to their worshippers. Whether this can survive the birth of a modern state, however, is surely suspect. The protesters in Nepal want progress, and cannot be blamed for this; yet the world grows more monochrome each day. This film is quite light on content, but is still a fascinating glimpse into a disappearing world of colour.
Review of Living Goddess
