PLOT: A documentary about the filmmaker's personal journey going to Planet Earth's "Ground Zero" hotspots, from Manhattan to Kabul, in search of hidden meaning.

ScaredSacred -- which is one word to emphasize the twinning of the otherwise conflicting ideas contained in each -- is a unique documentary made by an unusual filmmaker.

He is Canadian-born Velcrow Ripper, who was raised in Gibson, B.C. Despite the bizarre Gothic name Ripper has adopted, he is a man who seeks the hope within the horror.

In the case of this provocative and often emotionally transcendent film, Ripper spent five years travelling to various Ground Zero hotspots, starting in 1999. He took his video camera, his obvious Buddhist learning and a disarming naivete that allowed him to navigate in dangerous situations.

Among the destinations, of course, is Manhattan in the wake of 9/11. Unlike some Americans who are inward-looking on the topic, Ripper already knew that this tragedy was not the only real man-made catastrophe in recent human history.

So he also found himself in Kabul, before and after the fall of the savage Taliban administration in Afghanistan. And in Sarajevo, after the genocidal wars following the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. And in Cambodia, in the wake of the Khmer Rouge's unholy reign of terror.

And in Hiroshima, Japan, for a ceremony marking the devastation of an atomic bomb. And in Sarnath, India, where the exiled Dalai Lama speaks of peace, not war. And in Israel and Palestine, where war is a socio-political disease. And in Bophal, India, where the Union Carbide fiasco showed that an industrial accident that killed tens of thousands and left survivors to fend for themselves is as brutal as war.

In every case, perhaps miraculously, Ripper looked for and found what he considers to be "the sacred" in these situations. For example, in Cambodia, he met a remarkable man named Aki Ra. With his parents murdered by Khmer Rouge terrorists, Aki Ra was forced to become a boy-soldier and lay landmines. Eventually, he managed to switch sides and fight against his oppressors. Today, armed with only a wooden stick, he is a one-man decommisioning detail, rooting out landmines before they kill or maim another innocent victim.

Just as profound is the Bereaved Families Circle, a joint Israeli-Palestinian group. These are parents of children who died in the war, some by suicide bombings, some by sniper, some by military action. In all cases, bitterness has given way to forgiveness and an attempt to reach out for peace.

There are other stories of this calibre, although the film does have its weak segments. I did not buy into the filmmaker's vision in dealing with the 9/11 events, and the inclusion of a Dalai Lama speech, however inspirational, seems out of place and perhaps even preachy in the context of the film.

These are minor disturbances, however. The overall effect -- reinforced with Ripper's cinematography, his insights, the mesmerizing soundscape that sets his melancholic mood -- is often astonishing.

While this film is showing unrated at the Canada Square and the Camera Bar, I would recommend it for all adults and any children mature enough to deal with challenging material.

BOTTOM LINE: Amid the despair of recent catastrophes, meditative Canadian filmmaker Velcrow Ripper celebrates the goodness in people. That makes it worthwhile to see. The film played in the 2004 Toronto filmfest.

(This film is unrated )