Valley of the Heroes

Many documentaries about Tibet focus on the region's Buddhist population and its efforts to retain its religious heritage in the midst of the Communist Chinese presence. Khashem Gyal's thoughtful and cogent documentary is quite different, centering on Tibet's Muslim population, which shares the concerns of its Buddhist neighbors regarding the struggles to maintain a cultural identity (at one point, the film captures footage of a festival in which Westernized Chinese view Tibetans with the same level of mild amusement that Americans might offer costumed cartoon characters in theme parks). According to Valley of the Heroes, the greatest challenge lies in trying to preserve the Tibetan language in Tibet's remote Hualong county. Because of Chinese policies, the most prominent language in the region is no longer Tibetan. In fact, only 30 percent of the Tibetans (mostly the elderly) are able to speak their own language. Gyal uses two sets of subtitles—white subtitles for Tibetan speakers, yellow for those speaking Chinese—to illustrate the encroachment of Chinese speech at the expense of the native tongue. The overall tone here is not optimistic about whether the Tibetan language will be able to regain its dominance, although attention is given to a program that is working aggressively to ensure that Tibetan does not become an extinct language. Offering a fascinating glimpse into a rarely-considered aspect of the Chinese-Tibetan situation, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)