Xunzhao zhimei gengdeng

"The Search" is the first Chinese production where the dialogue is spoken entirely in the Tibetan language. A film director and his cameraman travel by four-wheel drive across rural Tibet, auditioning actors to be in a screen version of the classic Tibetan-Buddhist opera "Drime Kunden. With them in the vehicle are a businessman and the driver. During their long languid journey, the businessman regales the other passengers with a tale that seems to run parallel with what is occurring on the screen. They visit remote monasteries and high-school gymnasiums, looking for an actor who can act as well as sing: many of the 'auditions' are filmed in real time, adding to the film's already snail-like pace. The director, Pema Tseden is clearly influenced by the work of such directors as Abbas Kiarostami and Theo Angelopoulos. However, Pema Tseden is not in the league of those directors. The never ending shots from inside the vehicle of the road ahead, and the businessman's constant prattle gradually gets on one's nerves, to the point where this viewer was debating whether or not to walk out of the cinema. The final dénouement was such that he wished he had.

"Xunzhao zhimei gengdeng" or "The Search" to give it its English name is a slow paced but beautiful film set in rural Tibet. A film Director and his cameraman go on a road trip accompanied by a local businessman and driver in search of singing and acting talent for a new film. At each new village we meet the great, the good and the down right awful! They find a young girl to play one of the main roles almost immediately but she will only perform if they reunite her with her ex-boyfriend to play alongside her. Along the way the businessman reveals he has a love story of his own which parallels that of the young girl.

I saw this at the 2009 London film festival where the film played to a packed audience but I am sorry to say there were quite a few that left before the end. Personally I think they missed out. Those that left probably had the wrong expectations when they came to the cinema. This film is not another "mountain Petrol" there are no beautiful sweeping shots of mountains or wildlife. Instead we are taken into real village life. Not picture postcard, not politically charged, just normal people doing normal things in normal lives.

Another factor that might put people off is that the "action" (this is a gentle slow paced film) is always filmed at a distance. This means that the characters are framed by the environment around them. They are placed in the context of their lives, Where they work, where they live. This is in contrast to so many modern western films where the action is always close in, right up to the actors faces.

Most of all we get the performances. The singing of the Girl from the first village is truly beautiful.

Please go see this beautiful, funny, eye opening film.

Love my art-house fare but found this film tedious in the extreme.

Aside from a few nice visuals this one didn't seem to go anywhere. Lacks the charm of something like Tulpan and the drama and conflict of an Iranian film.

There is a love story in here somewhere but I didn't care enough about the characters to sit through this.

Not sure if this would have been better as a doco.

Some of the scenes in the 4WD in particular really grated on me. Way too much dialogue and the story he was trying to tell simply wasn't interesting.