Product Details

• Actors: Dalai Lama
• Directors: Mickey Lemle
• Format: Color, Dolby, Full length, Full Screen, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Festival Media
• DVD Release Date: December 13, 2005
• Run Time: 62 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CQNJ0K
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,499 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Tricycle
"Beautifully shot…a sense of directness. His story is inextricably entwined with that of Tibet."

Product Description
Compassion In Exile is an intimate portrait of Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. Inherent in the life story of this Nobel Peace Prize laureate is the saga of the suffering of the Tibetan people under Chinese occupation.

For over forty years the Dalai Lama has waged a non-violent struggle in exile to bring attention to the plight of his people and save their unique culture and religion. He is the embodiment of the ideal of his Buddhist heritage and practice, and his life story is an inspiring lesson in compassion and peace.

Produced and Directed by Mickey Lemle
Music Composed by Philip Glass
Cinematographer: Buddy Squires

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compassion in Exile - a thoughtful review, April 22, 2007

By	Patrick D. Goonan "www.meaningful-life.us" (Pleasanton, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a very good one hour film on the life of the Dali Lama and the plight of the Tibetan people since the Chinese take over of Tibet. It does a wonderful job of providing an overview of the Dali Lama and the situation in Tibet.

Compassion in Exile has excellent photography, a good mixture of historical material and personal vignettes. It was particularly successful at capturing the personality of the Dali Lama and the energy of his presence which is often characterized by people as extremely authentic, compassionate and even playful. Certainly, the quality of his presence is a testimony to his development and an affirmation of his historical and spiritual significance. There is also an excellent book called The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living, which is a down to earth portait of the Dali Lama as viewed by a modern day psychiatrist. This book is also full of stories and quotes of the Dali Lama and is a very accessible introduction.

This movie is also excellent for its inspirational value. Surely, the Dali Lama embodies the qualities of forgivenss, compassion and peace. It is very clear from this movie he is in a different category than an ordinary human being and represents the highest attainment of his culture which is rapidly and systematically being destroyed.

One argument for the preservation of Tibetan culture and historical artifacts is that because of their isolation, many rare manuscripts and other important knowledge were preserved for more than a thousand years. A lot of this knowledge is oral and if the culture is dissemated some of this will be lost. It can also be effectively argued that Tibetan masters have done the deepest type of introspective work ever undertaken by any culture. What they have learned is something valuable to the people of this planet as a whole.

While it is a tragedy what happened in Tibet, the presence and visibility of the Dali Lama and the awareness of Tibetan culture on a large scale is a blessing for the rest of the world. The Dali Lama himself often refers to the Chinese communists as "his friends, the enemy." This sort of equanimity is a wonderful example of the type of understanding and compassion that we all need to reach a worldcentric point of view that will result in peace. This is of course is dependent upon individual development beyond mere cognition i.e. honoring other intelligences such as emotional, social, etc.

This would make a GREAT classroom video. If you are interested in knowing more about Tibetan Buddhism, you may also want to check out the listmania lists on my profile. There are various listed relating to a variety of religius traditions. However, one book that I feel is the must have for anyone interested in world religions is The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. This gives a good overview of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc. Another one by the same author that talks about the common core of the world's wisdom traditions and its relation to a scientific and primarily materialistic worldview is Forgotten Truth.

There are also a number of other DVDs available on Amazon about the Dali Lama. However, this film by Mickey Lemle with music by Philip Glass is certainly a great first exposure to this fascinating man and his culture. The Dali Lama is truly a spiritual giant in every sense of the word and his Holiness the Dali Lama is certainly a title that he lives up to in every respect.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compassion in Exile, March 8, 2007

By	Della Maharaj "Della Maharaj" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the past I have referred to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as simply the 'Dalai Lama', without knowing how vast the name in the man / the man in the name really is. After viewing the DVD, I now use the term His Holiness with its truest and deepest reverential connotation, for I feel so much love exuding from his being that it is really HOLY or GOOD. I thank those who made it possible for us to view such a life. I lovingly thank His Holiness for his life in this lifetime time and in all lifetimes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tibet, April 21, 2008

By	Booksice "Edda" (Iceland) - See all my reviews

The Chinese have quietly been suffocating Tibet, its people and culture for 60 years.
When China attacked Tibet in the late forties and HH the Dalai Lama had to flee he wrote letters to the UN, USA and to others and no-one responded.
Where is the outcry ? Are people not to be bothered ?
Se this documentary... See it and be heartbroken. This is happening now, this very minute.