BuzzFlash Reviews

December 28, 2005

Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion (DVD, 2003)
Director: Tom Piozet

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We would recommend "Tibet-Cry of the Snow Lion" for the exotic images of the nation and its culture itself: the mountains, the clothes, the costumes, the people, the monasteries. We can go on and on, but this is a technically dazzling film in terms of vibrant colors and landscape.

But that's only the secondary reason to watch "Cry of the Snow Lion." This is a profoundly political film. It details the brutal, genocidal actions of the Chinese government against this peaceful Buddhist nation and its tradition of monastic study and contemplation. What is more galling is that the Western world, including "Mr. Faux Democracy" himself, George W. Bush, are more interested in China's financial trade than in freeing Tibet from its suppression by Beijing.

We digress here, but we couldn't help but thinking how long the list of nations is that the Bush crew pays only lip service to about freedom and democracy, including Tibet, Burma (Myanamar) and Uzbekistan -- among many, many others. But it was only Iraq, who resisted U.S. oil companies, that seemed to attract Bush's attention in terms of "liberation." And, in that case, Bush liberated the country in order to privatize the natural resources of Iraq and its businesses; in essence de facto seizing them for big American companies.

Meanwhile, the pious, thoughtful, kind people of Tibet are left to be killed, tortured and uprooted by the Chinese army and secret police. Bush's uncle was (and perhaps still is) head of an American-Chinese business development organization, so George is 100% pro-Beijing (whatever occasional Taiwan saber rattling is done by members of his administration). That means, "Baby Doc" Bush doesn't give a damn about helping the people of Tibet obtain their freedom. He probably doesn't even know where it is.

The Dali Lama and other spiritual leaders make appearances in "Tibet," speaking from their community in exile in Dharamsala (in northern India). The death, torture and oppression experienced by many of the monks is as gruesome as it gets.

But mostly, this is an extraordinary film about the survival and traditions of a nation of people living, literally, at the top of the world. To see Lhasa, the capital, is stunning in itself. To see the decay of a sublime culture as it is, ironically, overrun by Chinese commercialism is heartbreaking.

The film is mostly vivid footage shot over a number of years intermixed with occasional archival film and photographs, some of it clearly spirited out of the country.

Rarely is such a thorough documentary done on a society that has largely been sealed off. "Tibet" provides a keyhole through which to see a magnificent culture and a stunning land at the top of the world.

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