Free Tibet [DVD] [1998]

As the title implies, Free Tibet: The Motion Picture is more of a documentary about the first Tibetan Freedom Concert -- its origins, its cause, and the artists that supported it -- than a film of the concert itself. Though it's admirable to put the motives behind the show first, it also makes watching the film somewhat frustrating: Some of the concert's best performances, such as Cibo Matto's "Birthday Cake" and Pavement's "Give It A Day", are interrupted in favor of interviews with concertgoers, other artists, the show's promoters and people from the Milarepa fund. This emphasis on the show's admittedly noble causes -- fundraising to support the Tibetan people in their nonviolent struggle against China for example -- wouldn't be so distracting if the film were better organized. The parts of Free Tibet that document how horribly the Tibetan people have suffered under China's oppression and how the Milarepa Fund came to be are informative and often moving in their own right, and the concert excerpts range from good to great, but they just don't blend well together. For those looking for political information, the Milarepa Fund website www.milarepa.org states the organization's motives and actions more clearly. As for the music, Beck's bluesy, impassioned performance over the film's opening credits and Bjork's ravishing finale of "Hyperballad" bookend so-so outings from the Foo Fighters, A Tribe Called Quest, Sonic Youth, and Rage Against the Machine. The Smashing Pumpkins' incendiary "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and John Lee Hooker's performance are two more of Free Tibet's standout moments, while Milarepa Fund founders the Beastie Boys turn in a surprisingly weak rendition of "Sabotage." The film's fair-to-middling sound quality also comes as a disappointing surprise, reaffirming that Free Tibet is more about the causes behind the concert than the music performed at it. Still, Free Tibet is an interesting and worthwhile chronicle of one of the mid-'90s most successful benefit concerts, even if it doesn't deliver enough music for fans of the artists represented here. The DVD also includes a fun but somewhat in-jokey commentary with executive producer/Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and cinematographers Spike Jonze and Evan Bernard, a video of the Beastie's performance of "Root Down" from the concert, a brief explanation of what the Milarepa Fund is and how it got its name, and further information on the Tibetan plight. Though the film's wealth of facts and music could have been better organized, socially conscious music fans may still want to see what Free Tibet has to offer.