This biographical road movie centers on the life and times of Gendun Choepel, one of the most controversial figures of 20th century Tibet. Well educated in the traditional monastic curriculum and a creative genius, Choepel became stifled by the conservative tenor of his surroundings. He left Tibet and traveled throughout Asia, becoming acutely aware of the rigidity that characterized Tibet prior to the occupation by the Communist Chinese in the 1950's. His own licentious behavior (smoking, drinking, and sex) made him an easy target, and his criticism of the monastic establishment and the government landed him in jail (he may be seen in Kundun as the young Dalai Lama peers around Lhasa with his telescope and into the jail nearby). His innovative art and poetry were dismissed, as were most new things at the time, but these and his intellectual challenges to ossified claims regarding Buddhist tenets indicate the breadth and depth of his genius. Choepel's life, spanning from the period of the British occupation of Lhasa in 1904 (the so-called Great Game) to the invasion by China in 1950, is also a witness to the great upheavals in Tibetan society prior to the exile of hundreds of thousands, including the Dalai Lama. More at frif.com
Following the film, there will be a panel discussion on the film's implications for the Tibetan diaspora and its disaffected youth. Leading this will be Professor Donald Lopez of U. Michigan, one the leading scholars of Buddhism, advisor to the film, and author of Madman's Middle Way, about Choepel. He will be joined by David Patt, outreach director for Cornell's East Asia Program, and Venerable Tenzin Thutop, resident monk of Ithaca's Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies. Neither romantic nor excessively critical, Angry Monk will illuminate an obscured vision of Tibet by which to reflect on its tragic fate in the years following Choepel's death in 1951.
2005, color, 1 hour 37 minutes, Switzerland