The Search - Xunzhoo Zhimei Gengdeng-Tibet

This is the second movie to be made inside Tibet, by an all Tibetan crew and cast. It is extremely difficult to get past the Chinese censors and so this one took longer to make and to produce. It is a love story on many levels: the long distance romance, the unreturned love, the love of theatre, music and culture of Tibet and the love of film as a vehicle to express all of this. The children and young people, especially the singers and actors, all non-professionals, shine. I like the main story teller who keeps fellow passengers entertained as they accompany the director in his search across the country for actors for a classical Tibetan opera Drime Kunden. The story teller's tale of his first love and how she ended up marrying someone else, is the story of how things don't always turn out as expected. Although love is everyone's dream, it is full of obstacles, much like those encountered when trying to stage the perfect opera. This is well worth seeing but could have benefitted from some editing as it is very long.