Here's why I love the British media:

Last week, during a pre-dawn drive to work, I flipped on the BBC World Service. They were going nuts: something between a riot and a rebellion had broken out in Tibet. Buildings were burning. Molotov cocktails were being hurled. Fighting, casualties, mayhem, oppression ...

All through the day, I kept checking the news. Do you know what the top story was on the American news networks? Umm ... I can't remember either. I think it had something to do with Obama and Hillary and some sort of slimy statement made by one or both of the candidates' surrogates. I really can't recall, it was that petty.

The BBC pointed out that the Chinese government was censoring just about everything coming in and out of Tibet. The conflict would be kept off the Chinese news; even wealthier folks with cable would see their TVs suddenly go black as soon as Western networks mentioned the occupied Himalayan territory.

This week, as the riots rage on, why not get yourself up to speed on the films that the Chinese government doesn't want its own people to see. You may not see them on American TV either.

Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
I remember this film came out back when I was going through a hating-on-Brad Pitt phase. After Legends of the Fall and 12 Monkeys, all the high school girls I knew were swooning over the pock-faced glamor-boy. I mean, he was good in Se7en, but really, what was the hype about? So, I skipped Seven Years and later regretted it. Brad Pitt and David Thewlis (Remus Lupin in Harry Potter) are Austrian climbers who seek refuge in Lhasa at the beginning of World War II and eventually stay, as the title clearly suggests, seven years, forging a spiritual relationship with the people and the young Dalai Lama himself. According to the Canada Tibet Committee, director Jean-Jacques Annaud snuck into Tibet to shoot footage that had been forbidden by the Chinese government. Pitt and Thewlis reportedly are banned for life from mainland China.

Kundun (1997)
You know how sometimes two very similar films will be released at pretty much the same time? Deep Impact and Armageddon, The Prestige and The Illusionist, Capote and Infamous ... Well, 1997 was Tibet's year with Seven Years and Kundun opening within weeks of each other. Kundun was a strange spiritual break for Scorsese, coming right between the mafia violence of Casino and the dark-comedy triage of Bringing Out the Dead. While Seven Years is the easier watch for filmgoers who need hunky stars to focus their attention, Kundun is a biopic of the Dalai Lama, and therefore more compelling to the academic viewer. Plus, you can't ever go wrong with Martin (he too was banned from China as a result of the film).

Dreaming of Tibet (2004)
By the time this documentary was released, global activists had pretty much put Tibet on the back-burner as the Darfur genocide became the more immediate humanitarian emergency. Similar in structure to Darfur Now, this documentary follows the daily lives of several unique individuals -- a monk, a nurse, a press officer and and activist -- striving, each in their own way, to liberate Tibet. And like Darfur Now, it too has its celebrity guests, including Richard Gere and Goldi Hawn.

Free Tibet (1998)
In the canon of concert films, a few great ones come to mind: Woodstock (Scorcese was an editor), the Maysles Brothers' Monterey Pop, and just about any U2 DVD. Add Free Tibet to the list, if only because it truly exposes the hypocrisy of American Pop culture. Featuring Rage Against the Machine (of course) and Bjork, it's the Smashing Pumpkins' guitarist who delivered the first-infamous, now-forgotten line: "It's hard to expect real serious intentions with a rock concert with millions of kids."

Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion (2002)
An award-winning, beautiful documentary shot over 10 years, Cry of the Snow Lion covers everything from political dissidents to Himalayan brothels. Of all the films on this list, this one has the most impressive cast of celebrities with voice-overs from Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris and Martin Sheen as the narrator.

Recommend (0) |

Comments (0) |

Email  |

Share

Share  Facebook Digg del.icio.us