The sands of time draw the Buddhist faithful

In his beautiful and illuminating documentary “Wheel of Time,” Werner Herzog continues his unceasing exploration of the outer ranges of human experience.

As an expression of Tibetan Buddhist faith, the film celebrates a triumph of spirit over often severe tests of endurance, a Herzog obsession. The film, presented Friday through Tuesday by American Cinematheque, makes clear why the Chinese Communists regard Tibetan Buddhism with such fear and have striven to repress it so cruelly over the past half century.

The Dalai Lama summoned the faithful to India in January 2002 for a gathering at the Bodh Gaya, the fifth generation of the tree under which Buddha found enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago, for the Kalachakra initiation, Buddhism’s key ceremony. Herzog and his crew were there to record the entire lengthy event, which involves prayers, chants and the creation of an intricate sand mandala, an inner vision of the self and a visual expression of “the enlightenment that lies dormant in all human beings,” as Herzog puts it.

The Kalachakra drew thousands of pilgrims -- from Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the steppes of Outer Mongolia. Some monks even fully prostrated themselves every four steps of their journey; one monk, a Herzog hero to the max, came from a remote region beyond Tibet, traveling 3,000 miles over a 3 1/2-year period to attend. The gathering included scholarly debates over Buddhist philosophy and the blessing of the pilgrims by high lamas. Illness prevented the Dalai Lama himself from participating, but he appeared briefly on the final day to give blessings. Away from ceremonies, the camaraderie between the pilgrims was hearty and good-natured.

Herzog interweaves a further ritual, a journey in May 2002 by a caravan of trucks to the base of the snow-covered Mt. Kailash in western Tibet, sacred to both Buddha and Lord Shiva. At altitudes of 17,000 to 19,000 feet, which inevitably cost some lives among Indians from the lowlands, the pilgrims embark upon, among other rituals, a three-day hike around the mountain’s 52-kilometer circumference. While the Dalai Lama lamented that his health prevented him from completing the Kalachakra in January, he was confident that he would be able to lead the entire ceremony in a rare Western setting, in the fall of 2002 in Graz, Austria -- home to a small but dedicated Buddhist community, thus providing “Wheel of Time” with a dramatic and enthralling climax in keeping with his remark to Herzog that “all religions teach compassion and tolerance.”

Past and future

Over the days leading up to Christmas, the New Beverly supplements a pair of classic Hollywood double bills devoted to Billy Wilder and Paul Newman with programs ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, starting with tonight’s screening of Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1974 “The Mirror” and his 1986 valedictory “The Sacrifice.”

The title of the enigmatic “The Mirror” could easily refer to art itself, in its ancient function of holding up a reflection to nature so that we may see ourselves in it. With Tarkovsky, however, there’s always a desire to see beyond this world into others -- in this instance, the past, evoked through memory, imagination and dreams. “The Mirror” is, above all, an expression of longing for the past, specifically for a mother’s love and a return to an Eden-like existence. But this also is a film with a double vision: While expressing that childhood desire for security that seems to remain with us always, it perceives its people from an adult perspective, and for all its luminosity, some of its memories are fear-laden and tragic.

“The Sacrifice,” Tarkovsky’s great meditation on the imperiled future of humanity and arguably the director’s finest work, is suffused with his characteristic longing for maternal love and for communion with God and nature while it evokes the specter of nuclear holocaust. No other filmmaker has so powerfully evoked a world of the spirit existing beyond surface appearances.

Flinch factor

On Tuesday there will be a Grindhouse presentation of two ‘60s items from exploitation producer David Friedman. The first is Herschel Gordon Lewis’ notorious “Blood Feast,” which details how a madman goes about bringing the goddess Astarte to life -- and which remains after four decades a benchmark in sicko cinema.

“She-Freak” is a lively, effective rip-off of the classic “Freaks” sparked by a strong performance by Claire Brennen, a promising young actress whose career was cut short by cancer.

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Screenings

“Wheel of Time”

Egyptian Theatre, 7612 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Friday, 7:15 and 9:15 p.m.; Saturday, 4, 6 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 and 7 p.m.; Monday and Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Through Tuesday. (323) 466-FILM

“The Mirror” and “The Sacrifice”

New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A. Today, 7:30 p.m. (323) 938-4038

“Some Like It Hot”

and “The Apartment”

New Beverly Cinema. Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2:55 and 7:30 p.m.

“Cool Hand Luke” and “Hud”

New Beverly Cinema. Sunday, 3 and 7:30 p.m.; Monday, 7:30 p.m.

“Blood Feast” and “She-Freak”

New Beverly Cinema. Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. The theater is closed Wednesday, Christmas Eve.