With a nod to both Hollywood westerns and classic road movies, Soul on a String melds time-worn cinematic traditions into a unique tale of spirituality. Sprinkle a provocative hint of magic and the universal trope of revenge onto this Campbellian hero’s journey and you’ve got a potent concoction of mesmerizing motion picture alchemy. After discovering a sacred stone in the mouth of a slain deer, young Tibetan wanderer Taibei embarks on a mission of redemption to bring the divine artifact back to its rightful home, the holy mountain of Buddha. Danger lurks at every step, as black market traders and two brothers in search of vengeance stand in his path. Along the way, however, Taibei encounters a motley band of followers that help him on his strange and mystical journey. Twenty years after his revolutionary Spicy Love Soup (1997), China's first modern film, Zhang Yang reinvents himself once again.