Dreaming Lhasa (2005) User Reviews

A fictional film about a search and the all too real suffering of Tibetans

[rasecz · 7/10 · 30 September 2007]

Under the guise of a simple plot -- Tibetan woman living in the West comes to Dharamsala, India and becomes involved in the search for a missing Tibetan man -- the film forces us to return to the sad story of Tibet.

Starting with the invasion by China in 1949 and stretching to the political crackdown of 1987-88, we are reacquainted with the problem of Tibetan refugees, the Dalai Lama being the best recognized of them. We see a little of the life of those refugees in India. We get to meet four past political prisoners and the treatment and torture they suffered in the hands of the Chinese occupiers.

This is not a documentary, but at the political level it works as one.

lives torn asunder by violence and repression

[Buddy-51 · 7/10 · 16 April 2008]

In "Dreaming Lhasa," a young American filmmaker goes to India to make a documentary on the Tibetan monks who have been living in exile in that country ever since the Chinese invaded their nation and overthrew the Dalai Lama nearly sixty years ago. A Tibetan native herself, Kharma temporarily puts her film on hold so that she can help one of the refugees in the area locate the whereabouts of another monk who disappeared during a protest rally in 1987.

Though "Dreaming Lhasa" feels only half-formed at times in terms of storytelling and characterization, the unhurried, contemplative rhythm of the film nicely captures the flavor of the setting and the nature of the theme. While Tenzin Chokyi Gyatso occasionally lacks projection and confidence as an actress (though at times she is very good), Jampa Kalsang, the actor playing the monk, centers the movie with his quiet stoicism and gravity.

This heartrending subject could probably do with a more passionate treatment, but the quiet serenity of "Dreaming Lhasa" is not without its special rewards as well.

Good film - Could Be Better

[prepost · 8/10 · 13 September 2005]

I saw this film at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. Resonating soundtracks, beautiful cinematography and original story brought alive a story of two lost souls struggling to find the past/truth that they fear to uncover. The directors picked an interesting angle to look at how the Tibetan exile community continues to fight for their land and at the same time deals with the temptations from the "outside" world. Shot along very scenery Tibet-India border, the setting alone was worth to watch.

On the down side, unfortunately the leading actress still has a long way to go before reaching the same performance level as the rest of key cast members. Also the pacing was great at the beginning, but somehow went flat towards the end.

Great job for a low-budget film.

slice of Tibet

[Vincentiu · 4 July 2012]

a movie like a song. about mixture of present and past. about exile and images from motherland. about roots and duties. about love, search of sense, people and their chain of shadows, about truth and its price. a story about Tibet but in special manner. not exactly a manifesto or new pledge against Chinese occupation. only definition of pain out freedom. the message is universal. and the delicate science to present a trip, gestures, words, meetings of two people - a woman from USA, a man from Tibet, each in space of Dharamsala, each piece of a way, each master of many questions , profound desires, and fundamental revelation. the virtue of film - courage of good measure. gentle form of tale. and art to be far from any exaggeration. a film like a song. Tibetan song. with so many nuances!

Boring, little story, and bad dialogue

[IzzyTree · 2/10 · 8 July 2010]

It's hard to believe a film about political dissent and torture could be boring, but somehow this is.

The storyline is barely an excuse for a film, the dialogue is unbelievable, and the acting is atrocious. If this had been a documentary, it might have been decent. Since it can be revealed without spoilers that this is about a woman making a documentary, I can say that the scenes where she's viewing her interviews are gripping and are the best thing about this film.

Example of dialogue: "So many have given their lives for Tibet, for us." "What the ... do I care about that?" And she loves this guy and she's doing a documentary on Tibet. OK, yeah.

Spoiler here: The story involves a conspiracy about the CIA agitating the Tibetan resisters. Now, I don't know if this is true or not, but it sure distances the viewer from the torture and dissent to think it was all a CIA plot, doesn't it? It also makes the story totally uninteresting. If this guy they're looking for is just a CIA mole, who cares?

Another problem is technical: The sound is awful, fuzzy and muffled. I could barely understand the English being spoken in a Tibetan accent, and there were no English subtitles for the deaf on the DVD. This led to the paradoxical situation where I could understand what was happening better when they were speaking Tibetan, because then there were English subtitles.

I'll give it a 2 for the documentary-type scenes, the Tibetan chanting, and the scenery.

under the circumstances, it is an amazing film

[dumsumdumfai · 9/10 · 14 September 2005]

and the circumstances are: all actors are non-professional; the related topic and political message; and thus the financing; thus the persistence it was required in waiting for this film to get made; and the great possibility that it will not find a general audience.

yet the trend in many of the recent risky films (from what I have been seeing) is that the narrative is merging the fictional with non-fictional. This film also intertwine interviews, a basically true story, locals, with a derivative plot. And the ending somewhat caught me by surprise. Not that the plot is complex. But the film pull in so far with it's rhythms that is (pardon the expression) oozing tranquility and the easy nature that seems to be Tibetan.

*** possible spoilers***** in the time I saw this film was in the Toronto film fest, where previously I saw 2 other similar films : Broklyn Lobsters and Sunflower. However, those in comparison are heavy handed, straight forward and although realistic, lacks some kind of sincerity. These 2 films although personal, to me, chronicles and places the feeling instead of pauses and meander on an emotion, an uncertain feeling for that matter, needs an uncertain moment.