There is something about Tibet that seems to make for bad movies. Were it not for the questions it raised over political censorship in the post-handover SAR, Seven Years in Tibet would have entered and left Hong Kong without making the least impression on the cinematic seismograph.
From the opposite side of the political spectrum comes Shanghai Film Studio's A Tale of the Sacred Mountain. Based on an incident in the early 1900s in which British forces tried to subjugate Tibet, the lavish spectacular is overly melodramatic, unsubtle, and poorly acted.
The movie is apparently the brainchild of Feng Xiaoning, credited as director, scriptwriter, co-producer, and co-cinematographer. From the evidence, he excels only in the cinematography, with magnificent vistas of Tibetan mountains, plains, and lakes.
Unlike Seven Years in Tibet and Kundun (as yet unreleased in Hong Kong), A Tale of the Sacred Mountain was filmed on location - probably to emphasise Tibet is an integral part of China. Yet the story has promise: Xue'er (Ying Zhen) is, according to the superstitious custom of her drought-stricken village, to be sacrificed to appease the gods. She is rescued, and eventually makes her way to Tibet with the help of Agegesang (Shao Bing), a Tibetan herdsman.
They lead an innocent and idyllic life, despite the jealousy of Danzhu (Ning Jing), the sexy daughter of the region's leader. She does everything she can to get Agegesang, but to no avail. Life becomes more complicated when Xue'er and Agegesang rescue two British explorers caught in an avalanche.
Jones (Paul Keisey) is a young linguist who respects the Tibetan way of life. The older Rockman (Nicholas Love) is an undercover intelligence officer who sees Tibet as a rich jewel waiting to be placed in the British crown.
The men leave in peace but come back leading an army. The poorly-armed Tibetan troops have little chance in the face of British military superiority, leading to mass carnage but leaving the Tibetans' spirit unvanquished.