The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

The film is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the fate of the mountain region and the legacy of the Dalai Lama.

A fresh examination of the plight of the Tibetans still craving independence after a half century of either homeland misery or increasingly long exile.

Sarin and Sonam also lift the veil on potentially explosive divisions within the Tibetan exile community, which is torn between spiritual and cultural loyalty to the Dalai Lama and a widespread longing for true independence. (The filmmakers clearly belong to the pro-independence camp.)

Just as you need two hands to clap, explain frustrated young activists, the ­Dalai Lama requires a reasonable partner with whom to negotiate. And right now, it seems, the Tibetans may as well have their arms tied behind their backs.

The doc dutifully allows for these varying viewpoints, but in a mode that’s not especially captivating, despite a guitar score by Brokeback Mountain’s Gustavo Santaolalla.

Clouds teases out the contradiction between the Lama's power as a symbol to the fiercely loyal Tibetan people, and that of his diplomatic voice, which he is using to push what they see as an impotent agenda.

The filmmakers, chronicling the Dalai Lama’s somewhat muddled attempts to respond to the protesters’ calls while not antagonizing China, do a fair amount of muddling themselves. They lurch awkwardly between reverence for the Dalai Lama and hints that he has become, politically, irrelevant or an obstacle.