10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (2007)
Genre: Special Interest, Special Interest, Documentary
Starring: Dalai Lama, The XIV
DVD Info
Release:
Oct 23, 2007
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Dolby Digital - English
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
It may be destined to become the definitive film on The Dalai Lama.
Part history lesson and part profile, the film presents a concise, cogent account of recent Tibetan history as well as an engrossing onscreen conversation with one of the world's great spiritual leaders.
10 Questions works extremely well as an introduction to the Dalai Lama and offers a tantalizing peek at the dynamic and even mischievous personality of this influential man.
[Ray's] particular interest in Asia serves him well as he explores the Dalai Lama’s world.
“10 Questions for the Dalai Lama” is a tedious title for an anything-but-tedious film that expertly merges the mystical and the mundane.
The 11th question would be: Does a TV-grade travelogue followed by a halfway-decent Q&A warrant a theatrical release?
There have been several documentaries about the Dalai Lama, but few have done a better job of packaging the Tibetan religious leader's circumstances, both historical and current, along with his philosophies, than 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama.
[Director] Ray interjects observations about his own travels like a backup musician who thinks he's the frontman. A little less cowbell, please.
The film never rises above the spiritual or intellectual level of a TV news anchor. It is a dispiriting film to watch, if you have any real interest in the subject.
One comes away from 10 Questions emboldened, energized, and sadder -- aware that peace remains so radical a concept that most of us aren't yet worthy of it.
A nicely crafted, economic (it's only 85 minutes) introduction to that most eminent of men, the spiritual leader and deposed head of state of Tibet.
A slam-dunk for history classes -- informative and challenging, touching on issues of free speech, modernity, democracy, and globalism.


Top Critic