“The thing you want from a documentary about his holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is the chance to get right up close to him, in the way that movies can do. You want the chance to bask in his presence and come out with a heightened sense of what he’s about. The Last Dalai Lama? accomplishes that, with an offhand eloquence.” (Variety)

To the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism is both a religion and a “science of the mind”—and in this remarkably intimate film, he shares his crystallized understanding of the mind and its part in the creation and alleviation of suffering. A famously larger-than-life figure who exudes wisdom and deeply human compassion as he engages with the world, he’s also well known for his collaborations with neuroscientists and mind/brain researchers, and his passionate work to spread Buddhist techniques for overcoming negative emotions to young students. His urgency and dedication come through as he turns 82 and must deal with the questions of aging and death, and whether he will reincarnate as the next Dalai Lama or if he will be the last of the lineage that has existed for a millennium.