This film gets my vote for feel-bad movie of the year. Although there is some attempt to capture the culture of Tibet, that's in service to heighten the horror of the brutal genocide by the Chinese government since the rise of Mao. Americans get a glimpse of this destruction in the news, but this movie gives it to you full bore for 90 minutes. The movie touches on the most recent twist by the Chinese rulers to obliterate native Tibet: economic assimilation. The Communist party has completed railroads to the capital of the country, and is encouraging ethnic Chinese to migrate and visit, then using the resulting economic power to dominate the landscape. Meanwhile, the world does nothing (except an occasional medal for the Dalai Lama), because of China's global clout and Tibet's lack of it.
If you've never seen the systematic destruction of a people and a country, by all means rent this movie, if for no other reason than to be aware of the darkest side of human nature writ large. If you're sat through movies on other genocides, you may want to skip this one.
If you've never seen the systematic destruction of a people and a country, by all means rent this movie, if for no other reason than to be aware of the darkest side of human nature writ large. If you're sat through movies on other genocides, you may want to skip this one.