It cuts both ways that Tibet’s plight has been championed by the likes of Richard Gere and Harrison Ford and that the Dalai Lama is a household name as well as a holy man. The stars in particular are apt to make the issue seem just another pet cause. Tom Peosay’s majestic and harrowing documentary is a reminder of the real, often brutal situation on the Altar of the Earth. But why the narration from lefty Martin Sheen and the voiceovers from Ed Harris, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon? Peosay’s breathtaking cinematography — prayer flags fluttering before sweeps of elaborate Buddhist celebrations — could speak for itself, and so could the heart-rending scenes of Chinese soldiers crushing a monks’ uprising in 1987, and the images of capitalists turning monasteries into department stores. There are perceptive interviews with Buddhist monks and Western academics and politicians, and though Peosay is unabashedly pro-Tibet, the Chinese aparatchiks get to put in their two cents. At one point it’s noted that the Chinese PR machine does its utmost to further perceptions of Tibetan supporters as outside the mainstream. So more power to Sheen and the rest if they can use their star power to help this film bring its message to a wider audience.
By Mike Miliard
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