Dragons and Tigers
  The Silent Holy Stones
Lhing vjags kyi ma ni rdo vbum
[SILEN]  

China, 2005, 102 min, 35mm
World Premiere

Directed By: Wanma-caidan
PROD: Lion (Li An)
SCR: Wanma-caidan
CAM: Du Jie
EDS: Li Fang, Zhou Yifu
MUS: Dege-cairang
CAST: Luosang-danpei, Quesai, Quhuancang Buddha, Sanmu-dan, Puri-wa, Limaojia
  
 Film Resources 
  The Silent Holy Stones is a nearly storyless film. It’s set in a Tibetan village over the three days of the New Year holiday, and its central character is a teenaged lama who is delighted that he can take a break from his prayers and religious studies to spend some time with his parents, brothers and sister. Some good things happen during the holiday: the young lama and his even younger friend, a living Buddha, get to watch some TV, and an old-fashioned Tibetan opera is staged in the village. Some bad things happen too: an old villager dies unexpectedly, and some scumbag corrupts the village kids by charging them to see a lousy shoot-em-up on video. But that’s pretty much it, as far as plot goes.

All of which goes to show that story isn’t everything. Within this narrow timespan and remote setting, first-time director Wanma-caidan (a recent graduate from the Beijing Film Academy) succeeds completely in showing a young man who is just beginning to think for himself and make up his own mind about things ­ about the differences between religious and secular life, for instance, or the differences between Tibetan art and Chinese kitsch. He also succeeds in bringing an insider’s view of everyday life in a Tibetan village to the screen for the first time, thanks to some clear and controlled ideas about composition and staging. In short, he has made a remarkable debut.
 
Screening Schedule
 Date Time Venue Tickets 
 Tue, Oct 4 9:45 pm Granville 7 Theatre 2 $9.50   
 Wed, Oct 5 3:00 pm Pacific Cinematheque $7.50   
 Tue, Oct 11 2:20 pm Granville 7 Theatre 1 $7.50   
   
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