Excellent film, if slightly one-track

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 1999)

This is an excellent film. I put it in the Cry Freedom genre, although if anything it is better than that. I cannot understand people saying it is too long. The whole point about the opening sequence is to set up the contrast of the ego-centricity of Heinrich with the humility of the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan people. Without that beautiful contrast the film would lose its meaning. There is a delightful portrayal of Tibet and its people. This becomes the film's only weakness: it really is a cause celebre, and therefore slightly one-track. But the spiritual insights engendered soar above that problem, without ever being as 'in your face' as Cry Freedom was from a decade or so ago.
A truly superb film. It comes close to being in my top ten.