Best movies like Escape from Tibet

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

Fate brings a young man from rural Kerala to be the protector of a young Lama in Nepal, who is being chased by a dangerous cult.

Wheel of Time is Werner Herzog's photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.

Set in the early ’80s and ’90s in Gujarat, India, ‘Raees’ is a fictitious story of a crime lord named Raees, who builds an entire empire from scratch, and a police officer who is determined to bring him down.

When Chester accidentally memorizes and destroys the only copy of a secret Russian formula for a new and improved rocket fuel, they are thrust into international intrigue, trying to stay alive while keeping the formula out of enemy hands.

The Tibetans refer to the Dalai Lama as 'Kundun', which means 'The Presence'. He was forced to escape from his native home, Tibet, when communist China invaded and enforced an oppressive regime upon the peaceful nation. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living in exile in Dharamsala ever since.

A kindly English botanist and a gruff American promoter lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.

Summoned from an ashram in Tibet, Ace finds himself on a perilous journey into the jungles of Africa to find Shikaka, the missing sacred animal of the friendly Wachati tribe. He must accomplish this before the wedding of the Wachati's Princess to the prince of the warrior Wachootoos. If Ace fails, the result will be a vicious tribal war.

A con man who is on the run from law enforcement in the U.S. travels to Cambodia to collect his share in an insurance scam but discovers more than he bargained for.

Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, "Everest" documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.

Austrian mountaineer, Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Llaso, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child, is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa, humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."

The story is about a young girl, Kaya (Udita Goswami) , living in the beautifully serene valley of Spiti, waiting to join a Buddhist monastery, an idea which has been fed to her all her life by her father (Mohan Agashe) and one which she has never questioned. When Lama Norbu, a senior lama from the monastery has a dream that the Buddhist teacher, the Rinpoche has been reborn as a young child, he sends Kaya to Delhi on a mission to bring him back to the monastery.

As the denizens of a Tibetan village prepare for their arduous annual trek to exchange salt for grain, the community's allegiances are split between aging chieftain Tinle (Thilen Lhondup) and rebellious young Karma (Gurgon Kyap). Tinle tries to maintain his clout and preserve obedience to ancient customs when Karma challenges the old man's power.

Into Great Silence (German: Die Große Stille) is a documentary film directed by Philip Gröning that was first released in 2005. It is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.

After the death of Lama Dorje, Tibetan Buddhist monks find three children — one American and two Nepalese — who may be the rebirth of their great teacher.

A love story situated in the Himalayas. A Buddhist monk can't choose between life and the way of the Buddha.

Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian moutain climber, escapes from a British POW camp in India and flees north across the Himalayan mountains into Tibet. There he meets and befriends the young Dalai Lama.

A look at the life and struggles of the Tibetan people and their culture told through music.

Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a full-time vocation. Controversies swirling within modern monastic Buddhism are examined, from celibacy and the role of women to racism and concerns about the environment.

Two guys, handsome William and his side kick Luke have just started their trip through the beautiful California desert when they're kidnapped by the notorious Psycho Mike, The Kern River Killer. Securing their escape through hilarious means and the aid of an old friend they soon stumble into a small desert town where unbeknownst to them a mysterious tall Blond Man and his sadistic henchmen are killing people to create a Legion of the dead. Here's where it gets tricky. William falls in love with Geena, the beautiful waitress at the local restaurant and Luke spins out of control hormonally. The restaurant is suddenly attacked by the LEGION and the tall Blond Man gives an ultimatum to hand over Geena within two hours or he will personally come in to get her. What is the mysterious secret that Geena and the Blond Man share? The clock ticks as the ultimatum draws near. The fight against evil has just begun...

Schaedler's film tells the fascinating story of Tibetan monk Gendun Choephel whose robes ultimately proved to be too constricting for his imagination and intellect. Born in 1903, Choephel left an indelible mark on Tibetan culture and became an icon for young Tibetans today. Because of his political views he was persecuted by the Tibetan government and died a broken man in 1951. The film follows in the footsteps of the rebel monk whose intellect challenged the ancient traditions of old Tibet. Journeying through Tibet and India, “Angry Monk” provides a vivid picture of Tibet that is in refreshing contrast to its often idealized and esoteric image.

Western culture treats mental disorders primarily through biomedical psychiatry, but filmmakers Phil Borges and Kevin Tomlinson reveal a growing movement of professionals and survivors who are forging alternative treatments that focus on recovery and turning mental “illness” into a positive transformative experience.

The daily life of the Dalai Lama is brought home with remarkable intimacy in SUNRISE/SUNSET. Granted total access to His Holiness for 24 hours, this is a day in the life of the Dalai Lama from when he wakes up at 3 a.m. until his bedtime at dusk.

This documentary presents an awakening inspired by the life of the Benedictine monk Henri Le Saux. After living in a monastery in Brittany for 20 years, he left for South India with the objective of bringing the best of Christian monastic life with him. To achieve his goal, he believed it important to first open himself to the spiritual heart of India. In doing so he encountered Ramana Maharshi, one of the great sages of his time, at the foot of the sacred mountain Arunachala. The impact of this meeting on him was so powerful that Le Saux’s initial plan was turned upside down. In the presence of this mystical mountain, and its Sage, Le Saux began a spiritual adventure that would lead to his own rebirth.

In the valleys of the Himalayas, an orphan boy saves a Bengal tiger cub from the ruthless poachers who killed the tiger's mother. Together they set out in the Himalayan mountains to the Taktsang monastery in Bhutan known as "The Tiger's Nest" where Buddhist monks took refuge after the 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet and protect the big cats. A new great film for the whole family that talks about the importance of defending animals through the story of the friendship between two orphans, a tiger cub and a child, in a tale of brotherhood and the discovery of life.

Since 1950, Tibet has been occupied by China. Dorjee, a young Tibetan, grew up in peace 40 years later. After the death of his father, it all comes to a point, where he realizes that his wings are already cut, what it means to be Tibetan in a country which is called "China". Inside Tibet and in exile, a last cry for freedom starts.

Undercover in Tibet reveals the regime of terror which dominates daily life and makes freedom of expression an impossibility. Tash meets victims of arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and ‘disappearances’ and uncovers evidence of enforced sterilizations on ethnic Tibetan women. He sees for himself the impact of the enormous military and police presence in the region, the hunger and hardship being endured by many Tibetans and hears warnings of the uprising taking place across the provinces now.

In The Beckoning Silence, Joe Simpson, whose amazing battle for survival featured in the multi-award winning "Touching the Void", travels to the treacherous North Face of the Eiger to tell the story of one of mountaineering's most epic tragedies. As a child, it was this story and that of one of the climbers in particular, that first captured Simpson's imagination and inspired him to take up mountaineering.

Story of four young monks left alone in their remote monastery in Myanmar. Shot entirely in newly-opened Myanmar with non-actors, the film bridges spirit, cinema, and traditional Burmese storytelling to open a view onto an unseen world.

Father Adrien had taken the vows of eternal silence, prayer and, of course, celibacy, when he entered the Trappist Monastry of Notre Dame d'Afrique in Algeria. One day, he chopped down a tree that blocked a part of the Monastery wall, but as it fell it knocked a young girl senseless. As Father Adrien bathes her face she regains consciousness and in a mischievous mood embraces him. The embrace was seen by another monk but the Monastic discipline imposed is as nothing compared to the torturing penances of mind and body which the contrite Father Adrien has imposed upon himself. In the end it is all too much for poor Father Adrien and he abandons his vows and escapes into the desert, resuming his secular name Androvsky. On the way to the oasis of Beni-Mora he encounters Domini Enfilden who has been brought up as a Catholic. Androvsky rescues Domini from a rioting crowd and she finds herself deeply attracted to him.

Karma, a Tibetan filmmaker from New York, goes to Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's exile headquarters in northern India, to make a documentary about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet. She wants to reconnect with her roots but is also escaping a deteriorating relationship back home.One of Karma's interviewees is Dhondup, an enigmatic ex-monk who has just escaped from Tibet. He confides in her that his real reason for coming to India is to fulfill his dying mother's last wish, to deliver a charm box to a long-missing resistance fighter. Karma finds herself unwittingly falling in love with Dhondup even as she is sucked into the passion of his quest, which becomes a journey into Tibet's fractured past and a voyage of self-discovery

Set in a beautiful Himalayan valley, it’s a journey of a neglected and abandoned mute boy, who loses his mother at birth and is furiously neglected by his father. When his father goes behind bars, the boy stares at a lonely and deserted life ahead. His relationship with an elderly Buddhist monk helps him to detach from his voiceless suffering and to explore the bond that each creation shares with nature. With nowhere to go, he joins a Budhist monastery even as he fights an inner battle of unrequited love.

The Nightingale of Tibet is a musical biopic about the life of opera singer Yiga Gyalnang, played by Tibetan singer Namgyal Lhamo. The movie follows the perilous journey of the singer as she escapes illegal detention in an underground Tibetan prison cell to make it across the border to Nepal and eventually to Europe where she finds international acclaim and success.

When a doctor tells 47-year-old restorer Rike that she is in menopause, she can not believe it - she feels young and attractive. Her ex-husband Richard also sees that and therefore advises her to finally find a new partner. And at a vernissage, she meets a young and handsome Japanese man called Gen and falls head over heels in love with him. Also, Gen does not seem averse to a relationship. What Rike does not know is that Gene's heart belongs to his friend Thomas. In Rike, the homosexual young man sees the suitable marriage candidate to secure his stay in Germany. When Richard announces his wedding with his new girlfriend, Rike does not want to be inferior. Thomas, however, sees the fictitious marriage, which he himself has invented, with increasing jealousy: an angry fight over Gen's affection ensues between him and Rike, by all means and without regard for losses.