Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion

Starring:Shirley Knight, Tim Robbins, Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, Edward Edwards
Director: Tom Piozet
Studio: New Yorker Video
Product Type: DVD

Description

Ten years in the making, this award-winning documentary was filmed during a remarkable nine journeys throughout Tibet, India and Nepal. CRY OF THE SNOW LION brings audiences to the long-forbidden "rooftop of the world" with an unprecedented richness of imagery… from rarely-seen rituals in remote monasteries, to horse races with Khamba warriors; from brothels and slums in the holy city of Lhasa, to the magnificent Himalayan peaks still traveled by nomadic yak caravans. The dark secrets of Tibet's recent past are powerfully chronicled through riveting personal stories and interviews, and a collection of undercover and archival images never before assembled in one film. A definitive exploration of a legendary subject, TIBET: CRY OF THE SNOW LION is an epic story of courage and compassion.

Customer Reviews:

Let His Holiness go home!!!.......2007-06-18

10 years in the making and worth it. Peace loving Tibetans brutally beat, tortured and now made to live as second-class citizens. Visually stunning, informative and gut wrenching. A MUST see...FREE TIBET!!

Free Tibet.......2007-05-22

This beautiful collection of films about Tibet shows how spiritual the Tibetans are. It shows how the Chinese have stolen the Tibetans' culture and language and resourses. It is a crime that the leader of this peaceful country should have to escape over the border to India and not be able to go home again. What right do the Chinese have to invade Tibet and turn it into a part of China? Caroline Hutchinson, Phippsburg, Maine.

A stunning indictment.......2007-05-22

This beautiful film captures the mystery of Tibetan Buddhism in a way that we of the West can begin to understand. I brought a lot of background knowledge to the subject, but through this film came to understand the place of the monasteries in Tibetan life in a new way. Tibet has no educational system apart from the monasteries; when one reads that 10% of the population consisted of monks and nuns, it's easier to understand if you think of these individuals as involved in cultural and scholarly as well as religious pursuits. In the west these are sharply divided spheres; not so in the east.

The film is astounding in its breadth of material, from what must have been clandestine films of riots and beatings to Chinese military training films. There are numerous interviews of monks and nuns who must no longer be in Tibet. And the pictures of modern Tibet are heartbreaking, especially of the mighty Potala Palace with Chinese kids' rides and fast food vendors cluttering the plaza below. This is how the Chinese have really destroyed the culture; a new rail line to Tibet is imminent, and masses of Chinese are flooding the country, marginalizing the Tibetans and bringing with them the most tawdry aspects of what was once a proud and ancient culture in its own right.

The film makes the point that the Chinese have suffered too. One would think that Tibet could have been left as a peaceful buffer for China from India but that's not the Chinese Communist way. Of course the film is pro-Tibetan, but as usual the history is a bit more complicated. In fact Tibet has always had very close cultural ties with China, and there were Tibetans who encouraged the Chinese. Indeed, the Dalai Lama's predecessor for many years was a stooge of the Chinese. Tibet could not exist in a world of superpowers, but that inescapable fact doesn't lessen the tragedy this film portrays.

Beautiful and wrenching.......2007-05-14

Beautiful and wrenching. I could see it again and again. Some documentaries on Tibet are too dry, some too romanticized. This one is lyrical in it's combination of information, history, and images.

A Tale of Tears.......2007-05-03

Ten years in the making, this documentary will break your heart, but it also contains some very important stories. I felt very ignorant of world affairs as I watched, but was happy to be enlightened by the film. Tibet is so beautiful, yet holds a very dark history as people unfold the truth about the suffering and religious persecution. It is unbelievable that many are not bitter or angry toward the ones who tortured them or killed their friends and family, and they still hold hope that one day Tibet will be free. One can't help but tangle with a mix of emotions after watching the chronicle of events surrounding the 'rooftop of the world'. It is my personal hope that the native people of Tibet regain their freedom.

Chrissy K. McVay - Author

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