It’s no secret that the Chinese government is only too happy to stifle cries of “Free Tibet.” But it might surprise you to learn that the Dalai Lama feels the same way — well, sort of.
His Holiness has decided to seek the “Middle Way,” which stresses peaceful coexistence with the Chinese — a position at which many independence-seeking Tibetans bridle. And this quietly intense documentary from husband-and-wife filmmakers Tenzing Sonam and Ritu Sarin shines a light on the inter-Tibetan turbulence.
The couple use the 2008 Tibetan uprising (Tibet’s most violent rebellion in 50 years, flaring up in the days before China’s “coming-out party” for the 2008 Beijing Olympics) as a jumping-off point from which to explore the thorny issues, toggling between the serene Dalai Lama and the activists openly defying him in their four-month-long protest march from India to Tibet. By the end, Sarin and Sonam have left a heavy question hanging in the air: does the future hold any chance for a liberated Tibet?
