The third installment in John Bush's "Yatra Trilogy" (following Dharma
River and Prajna Earth) is "not only the year's
best documentary, but it is also among the finest films ever made about
religion." (Film Threat) It's a dazzling cinematic pilgrimage to
central Tibet, bearing witness to the indomitable faith of its Buddhist
community and the imminent threat to its survival. "Traveling through Chinese-occupied
Tibet with only a local guide and driver, Bush quietly captured the most
remarkable portrait of that Himalayan land imaginable. In a way, this may
be the last hope to see Tibet before it is permanently asphyxiated by the
Communist Chinese authorities... Bush chose not to interview any local people
for his film, fearing reprisals by the Chinese government for anyone who
speaks out against the occupation. [Instead, the film is narrated by Tenzin
L. Choegyal, nephew of the Dalai Lama, and Dadon, a Tibetan singer in exile
who also provides the score.] What Bush focused on, however, is the remains
of Tibet's Buddhist cultural heritage. The fact any of it survives is miraculous,
given the genocide enacted against the Tibetan people by the Chinese and
the wreckage of the holy shrines during the chaos of the Cultural Revolution."
(Film Threat) "A tonic for Buddhists, no doubt, the film offers
many pleasures to atheists as well." (Village Voice) DVCam projection.
more at www.vajrasky.com
2006, color, 1 hour 29 minutes, USA