With the plight of the Tibetan people in the news daily because of newly invigorated violence in the region, and large overseas pressure on the Chinese communist regime as it promotes this summer's Beijing Olympics, the premiere of Fire Under the Snow in the media capital of the world couldn't be more timely.
The film tells the tale of a 75-year-old Tibetan monk named Palden Gyatso, who spent 33 years of his life imprisoned and brutally tortured following the Invasion of the Chinese communists in 1959.
Based on Gyatso's autobiography of the same name, Japanese director Makota Sasa skillfully provides context, supporting imagery, and compelling interviews to communicate the tremendous suffering of the Tibetan people through the austere and relentless monk's journey.
Perhaps the only thing more shocking than the extent of the brutality that Gyatso personally endures is that his mental will could not be broken. It's this perseverance that enables Gyatso to escape from his homeland of Tibet to India, where he now lives in the Tibetan capital in exile, Dharmasala. Since he obtained his freedom, Gyatso has worked tirelessly to bring attention to the suffering of his people and the brutality he has endured.
Despite the film's difficult subject matter about the torture employed by the communists to break Gyatso's belief system, director Sasa is successful at balancing the weight of this topic without losing the audience.
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