For the present Tibetan generation, we are passing through the most difficult and darkest period in our history.

Sometimes, when I look at this negative side, I feel very sad. But then on the other hand, if there is a challenge, then there is an opportunity to utilize our human intelligence and determination. It seems to me that the Tibetan nation is not only a civilized one, but also one that possesses genuine inner strength. So, this is a good opportunity to face the challenge. I think after 40 years, after so much destruction, after so much human misery and suffering, the Tibetan spirit was never lost. It is still kept very firmly.

Dalai Lama (from 4/18/91 speech to U.S. Congress)

For an overview about the current situation in Tibet it's tough to beat Tom Peosay's documentary Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion, primarily due to the vast amount of footage actually shot in Tibet. Besides the physical challenges of lugging cameras through rugged Himalayan mountain passes to the "rooftop of the world" are the political obstacles of filming under constant vigilance from Chinese officials. Hell, it's difficult enough to merely obtain a visa to enter Tibet, let alone make nine separate journeys over ten years to record Tibetan culture on location like Peosay and his dedicated crew. We can all be thankful for a wondrous series of "coincidences" (beginning with Tom and Sue Peosay's 1987 Tibetan backpacking trip) that allowed this remarkable film to be constructed.

To work around the severe restrictions, the filmmakers recorded only public footage within Tibet. But along with horse racing games, festivals, and prostrating pilgrims are images of deliberate cultural destruction. Under Mao's cultural revolution old traditions were declared obsolete, and Tibetans have ancient roots that run deep, a devout spiritual heritage that has evolved in their largely isolated territory. The film graphically captures the devastating effects of Chinese occupation in recent years—numerous former monasteries in ruins, unemployed Tibetans gazing at television in the midst of Chinese construction, an extensive red light district in Lhasa. Of course, the final nail to solidify assimilation into Chinese culture is riding into the controversial train from Beijing to Lhasa—shown being constructed in the film but now complete.

For interviews, Peosay and crew filmed extensively in Tibetan exile communities in India and Nepal, along with a variety of western locations to obtain over 300 hours of raw footage. Especially precious are the clips culled from an interview with the Dalai Lama. Having read a great deal of his writing and seeing him speak, the filmmakers capture much of his good-hearted essence—most striking is the mesmerizing way that he connects with his audience, frequently laughing with self-deprecating humor while emphasizing his teachings about compassion. That makes the brief interview clips with a couple of Chinese nationals all the more disarming in context, when they disdainfully dismiss the Dalai Lama for spreading propaganda.

Particularly powerful are inclusions of extremely rare archival footage and stills documenting the 1987 demonstrations in Lhasa that were violently met with even more severe Chinese retaliation than what we all were able to witness in Tianamen Square over CNN just two years later. Spellbinding interviews with witnesses, former prisoners, and other survivors bring back the extreme persecutions to life. Especially heartwrenching is the story of Tibetan monk Jampa Tenzinm who suffered severe burns to rescue a number of his comrades—a courageous story that brings to mind other tales attributed to recognized saints. We witness a brief encounter with the badly scarred but cheerful monk, only to learn that he was soon after arrested, tortured, and killed by Chinese officials.

Also included is a brief historical outline of Tibetan history that includes the Dalai Lama's dangerous escape into exile and reveals the little known covert actions employed by the CIA in support of the Tibetan resistance movement, as told by Tibetan activists once trained in the U.S. This support abruptly ended during the Nixon administration when the U.S. opened trade operations with mainland China. This policy of appeasing Chinese business interests over their despicable human rights violations has continued over the years, despite the long documented abuses in Tibet. Two longtime survivors of political imprisonment share their stories, including elderly monk Palden Gyatso, who spent some 33 years under arrest before fleeing to India with an electric cattle rod and other implements of torture inflicted upon him.

With so much footage and mileage to cover, editing becomes even more crucial. Kudos to the technical wizards and Kathryn Himoff for seamlessly weaving this narrative together. Filling in loose ends effectively are clips from a variety of people with vast knowledge about Tibet—from Robert Ford (Buddhist scholar and author who lived in pre-Chinese Tibet before a five year imprisonment) to Robert Thurman (Buddhist scholar/author who co-founded the Tibet House in the U.S.).

A fascinating cultural study, Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion fascinated me beyond words—so much that I became determined to visit Tibet the moment I first saw the film in an arthouse theater. Since then, I eagerly purchased the DVD as soon as it was available and have recently re-watched it eagerly along with a number of its rich extra "deleted scenes" that add even more flavor—simply because I am looking forward to visiting Tibet next week. While the filmmakers do sketch in the Chinese views concerning Tibet, basic concepts of justice overwhelmingly favor the deeply wronged minority. What is even more amazing whether you get the message from this documentary or from the Dalai Lama is the power of their convictions in non-violent struggle while steadfastly refusing to "hate" the Chinese. Of much more concern is the personal struggle of making sure that their hearts and minds are right in the face of their most severe test. As the Dalai Lama states, " In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."