Arghya Basu's experimental documentary Listener's Tale finds the director traveling to the state of Sikkim in northeastern India, where he takes a non-narrative plunge into the lives of the indigenes who inhabit this former Tibetan monarchy. Basu treats the film as a whole as a piece of cinematic poetry, incorporating sequences of pre-rehearsed vérité that thematically reflect the Buddhist imperative of raw survival. Throughout, Tale provides a sociological overview of the three major ethno-social groups that inhabit the depicted area: the Lepchas, the Bhutias, and the Sikkimese. Basu also stages original dance numbers among the populace, utilizing choreography that reportedly came to its creators in a trancelike state, and that was historically used to effectuate interracial brotherhood among the populace. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi