Snow Leopard

In Pema Tseden’s drama, protected status as an endangered being only gets you so far.

“The snow leopard’s world is cruel. The human’s world is much the same.”

4000 metres above sea level, a tiny village of ram farmers is shaken when a snow leopard breaks into the sheep pen and kills nine prize rams. Unable to kill the beast due to the leopard’s protected status, the farmers instead trap it in the pen until the government is able to reimburse them for their lost livestock. The film ostensibly is about a film crew that follows the farmers around, but the real focus is on Jinpa (Jinpa), his brother Nyima (Tseten Tashi) who is now a monk with a passion for photographing leopards, and their father Aku (Losang Choepel).

Pema Tseden’s longtime collaborator Jinpa returns as the herder most willing to kill the leopard, and he again stands out in his role. His stubbornness and refusal to yield even when faced with police action shows both the hard-headedness of the shepherds but also speaks to an injustice that he has to face frequently. Anyone who’s ever faced a brick wall in the form of a government knows his struggle. He should be compensated for his loss, but the longer he holds onto the snow leopard, the worse it gets.

Snow Leopard is about a lot of things. It’s about the responsibilities of farmers, to themselves and to the natural world they cultivate. It’s about freedom to do what one wishes. It’s about bureaucracy, and how one can’t escape it even in the highest, most remote villages in the world. For a small film set in a single location, there’s a lot of meat to be carved from these killed rams, and Tseden does a great job exploring each aspect with the calm certainty and skill he had in Balloon and Jinpa.

It was the penultimate film he directed before his death in 2023, which is a shame as his straightforward, no-nonsense style (one or two weird monk flashbacks notwithstanding) had been a boon for Tibetan cinema. Snow Leopard is another film in his illustrious career that shows the region as it really is, not mystified like it has often been depicted in foreign media.

If there’s one thing the movie could have done without, it was the odd moment of filmmaker Dradul (Genden Phuntsok) attempting to keep his relationship afloat. At first it looks like the movie might make some comparison between Dradul and Jinpa, both foolishly stubborn regarding their jobs, ignoring their loved ones in the process, but then kind of does nothing with it. Dradul shows his girlfriend a video of a leopard, and all is fine. The whole thing feels entirely pointless in a story where everything tends to have a point, and goes somewhere specific. It’s a minor gripe for a film that was otherwise entirely engaging, filled with strong performances, gorgeous scenery and small moments of philosophy. Snow Leopard is a fitting film to mark not only the cultural importance of its titular beast but the legacy of one of Tibet’s most prominent cinematic voices.

Verdict: The cold, uncaring landscape clashes with the passion of ram farmers and makes for a gripping, worthy drama.

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Overall entertainment: 7/10
Violence: Mostly against rams, sometimes leopards
Sex: 0/10
Value of one ram: About a thousand yuan
CGI Leopards: Honestly not that bad
Vultures: Is that what they sound like?
Snow Leopards: Are a class 1 protected species, dontcha know

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Snow Leopard (2023)
Tibetan, Mandarin

Director: Pema Tseden
Writer: Pema Tseden

CAST

Dradul – Genden Phuntsok
Jinpa – Jinpa
Nyima – Tseten Tashi
Aku – Losang Choepel