Tibet documentary conveys the pain and the hope
The documentary Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion makes only oblique reference to Lost Horizon, the 1937 Ronald Colman film about a timeless kingdom nestled in the lofty spheres of the Himalayas. But there's no mistaking the spiritual dimension of the land depicted in director Tom Peosay's passionate report on the cultural and political history of Tibet. With mountains that reach five miles above sea level, the "rooftop of the world" somehow seems like rarefied, divine territory. Little wonder that, for centuries, Tibet has served as a center of Buddhism, as the home of the Dalai Lama. Of course, today, the current Dalai Lama is in exile, and the Chinese are tearing down old buildings and temples to erect office towers and apartments. The thousand-mile-long Tibetan plateau is an annex of the Chinese nation - and the country steeped in religious thought is at the mercy of a determinedly secular regime.
The documentary Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion makes only oblique reference to Lost Horizon, the 1937 Ronald Colman film about a timeless kingdom nestled in the lofty spheres of the Himalayas. But there's no mistaking the spiritual dimension of the land depicted in director Tom Peosay's passionate report on the cultural and political history of Tibet. With mountains that reach five miles above sea level, the "rooftop of the world" somehow seems like rarefied, divine territory. Little wonder that, for centuries, Tibet has served as a center of Buddhism, as the home of the Dalai Lama.
Of course, today, the current Dalai Lama is in exile, and the Chinese are tearing down old buildings and temples to erect office towers and apartments. The thousand-mile-long Tibetan plateau is an annex of the Chinese nation - and the country steeped in religious thought is at the mercy of a determinedly secular regime.
Although Peosay and his colleagues (including Oscar-winning documentarians Maria Florio and Victoria Mudd) wear their bias on their sleeves, Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion assembles varied and remarkable digital video, archival footage, photographs, interviews and personal reflections and academics' perspectives to convey the scope and history of the Tibetan story.
The film begins with a graphic account of the 1987 protests by Tibetan monks in Lhasa that led to riots, arrests, torture and death. And it includes a mesmerizingly thoughtful interview with the Dalai Lama - and rare footage of a younger Dalai Lama in Beijing, meeting with Chairman Mao Tse Tung. (The Chairman's parting words to the spiritual leader: "Religion is poison.")
A sobering examination of a land in turmoil and a people that have faced what former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Jeanne Kirkpatrick cites as 20 years of ethnic cleansing, Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion still somehow manages to convey the sense of perennial optimism that seems to be a defining characteristic of the Tibetans.
Contact movie critic Steven Rea
at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com.
Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion
*** 1/2 (out of four stars)
Written by Sue Peosay and Victoria Mudd, directed by Tom Peosay. With narration by Martin Sheen.
Running time: 1 hour, 44 mins.
Parent's guide: No MPAA rating (adult themes, violent images)
Playing at: Ritz East