Gorgeous visuals, contemplative story. I loved the quiet tension in this film, with its emphasis on scheming, and the martial arts scenes left in a minor key. The setting is a venerable Buddhist monastery which is about to have its elderly abbot retire. In contrast to his enlightened wisdom, rival visitors come in the hopes of getting their hands on a valuable ancient scroll. Its real value is in its message, says the abbot, but his words fall on deaf ears. In one telling moment, one of them doesn't even read it when he has a chance, caring only about its monetary value, the antithesis of why it was created. Meanwhile, in a nice parallel, rival monks vie to become selected as the new abbot, and are dismayed when an ex-criminal is chosen.
There are many outwardly respectable characters in this film, but few have pure hearts. Much of the film is comprised of their maneuverings, set to lush imagery and a soundtrack in perfect harmony with it. There is a wonderful sense of awareness that the abbot(s) have about what's going on around them - they're not off in the clouds or naïve about human nature, but at the same time, they demonstrate patience, kindness, deliberation, simplicity, and resoluteness. The film seems to be a meditation on practicing Buddhism in the face of human ambition, something applicable to everyday life.
I believe the title (Chinese characters not allowed by IMDb) is a reference to an idiom also used in the first line of Fei Ming's poem, 'The Soaring Dust of the Mortal Realm,' which itself refers to our all-too-human lives being tainted by the 'dust' of worldly desires. From translator Yilin Wang:
"The phrases in the poem pose similar difficulties for translation. Both idioms not only refer to supernatural miracles, but also allude to Buddhist and Daoist worldviews respectively. For example, on a literal level, (the characters that make up the title of this film) paints a mythical scene of empty mountains and mythical rain. But though the first character could be translated literally as "empty," it does not have connotations of absence, lack, and nothingness; instead, it has an airy and meditative quality, and can allude to sunyata, a complex Buddhist idea about being open and letting go. The third character also doesn't just mean magical or mythical; it implies the rain is flowing with a spiritual or sacred energy, possessing a sense of self-awareness present in all beings, which allows the rain to fall exactly at the right moment. Thus, the title is not merely a description of scenery, but a depiction of a spiritual and supernatural phenomenon that is deeply moving and transcendental."
I see the film title as thus a reference to the old abbot, who knows he needs to let go, and moves along effortlessly, in complete harmony with the world. His final scene was simply perfect. There is a parallel to the new abbot knowing what he should ultimately do with the ancient scroll, which was brilliant too.
