Kundun

I was rendered speechless by KUNDUN when I first saw it, and subsequent viewing have only confirmed my impression that this is one of Scorsese's finest films. Yeah - it's slow and elegant. So what.

I've long held an admittedly superficial interest in Buddhism, and also been a fan of Scorsese, liking most of his films quite a bit, so I went into this with some biases, but with every viewing this seems like a richer film. I also think that Scorsese was in some ways far more at home with this material than he was given credit for being. The cinematography and performances are excellent - the cast of mostly non-actors is surprisingly good, and much of KUNDUN is staggeringly beautiful to watch.

It has also struck me that this film isn't as much of a departure for Scorsese as it first may seem - this film works well as something of a companion to LAST TEMPTATION OF Christ in that both pictures examine great faiths through spiritual figures in a way that personalizes the divine. This simply literalizes undercurrents running through a number of Scorsese's other films, which often turn on themes of loyalty, conviction and ethics (like the self-assurance, against massive obstacles, shown by Alice Hyatt in ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE). All evidence a worldview where some form of redemption or transcendance is possible. In their own ways, several memorable Scorsese characters - Sam Rothstein (CASINO), Henry Hill (GOODFELLAS), Rupert Pupkin (KING OF COMEDY), Paul Hackett (AFTER HOURS) and Alice Hyatt attempt this, some in ways that are desperate, comically misguided or just plain wrong, but they're all human, driven by some redemptive impulse nonetheless.

The Catholicism of Scorsese's youth places great value on the importance of ritual, which is also true of Buddhism, which is depicted in a detailed and respectful fashion here, and the rhythm of KUNDUN - where the chronology of events isn't (or at least doesn't seem) forced, but are instead allowed to unfold in a more naturalistic and lifelike fashion also seems to mirror Buddhist ideas admirably.

This is a far more complex film than it first might appear to be - far from being a simple biopic, KUNDUN is much much more. Definitely one of Martin Scorsese's least appreciated films.

Kundun was beautifully done, adding true portrayals of the practices of the Tibetan Buddhists - their chants, artwork, dances and costumes. Also, Philip Glass did a wonderful job with the soundtrack- combining the sound of damarus, ghantas, conch-shells and mantras with his own unique sound. Unlike Seven Years in Tibet, Kundun concentrates on the plight of Tibet through the life of the Dalai Lama. This perspective allows for the audience to realize the ideals and morals that define the people of Tibet, through the eyes and life experiences of their own chosen leader. Focusing on a character other than the Dalai Lama allows for too many distractions within the plot of the movie, especially when the script for Kundun was taken from a biography of His Holiness. This film employs most of the senses in order to allow the audience a fuller understanding of the Dalai Lama, his people, and their struggle against the Chinese. Kundun may be lengthy, but it is well worth the time.

I was very pleased to discover that this film wasnt the Scorcese dud some of the user comments and critics had suggested it to be. While I am no expert on Buddhism, I know enough about it to see how brilliantly Martin Scorcese and Melissa Mathison weaved the core philosophy into this tale of the Dalai Lama's formative years. They did it without succumbing to ostentation, sentimentality, or populist good vs evil film dramatics. And yet it showed us how human the child was--laughing as the monks meditated while a rat drank the ritual offerings; being frightened in the dark monastery; taking on the very great responsibility of leading a truly wise, noble and compassionate religion while being confronted by the threats of the modern world. I appreciated how they didnt portray the Chinese as simple villians--by including the scene where he dreams the army personnel are explaining to him why they embrace Mao's communism. And they also presented enough of the Buddhist ritual and way of life to show us how alien it is to western religions(the scene where they cut up the body for the vultures comes to mind), though they dont gloss it over by excluding comments about the Lama's isolation and loss of childhood or the corruption surrounding his first Regent. It was also quite moving to observe the devotion of his monks and people.

Scorcese really demonstrates here that he is a true film artist and master storyteller. I wholeheartedly concur with the commentator that compared this film to the Last Emperor--despite similar story frames and lengths, this motion picture doesnt drag at all. If this had been say, Steven Spielberg's project you would have expected to see some manipulative melodramatics and insincerity. And how can one not be impressed by the performances he got out of mostly non actors! That alone was amazing. The film maintained its pace from the early years to the Lama as an adult. From what little of the man I have seen on tv, his humor, and wisdom was conveyed remarkably well by Mathison's script and the actors chosen for the role.

Finally, his comment to the Indian guard near the end after being asked if he was the Lord Buddha--encapsulates the wisdom and the humility of its spiritual leader perfectly.

You don't need to be Buddhist to love this movie. It's the story of the rape of a nation along with the biography of the man who leads that nation. The images, the dialogues and the music are very powerful. Of course it omits the question of democracy under the rule of Dalai Lama but anyway nothing can be worse than Chinese oppression and total violation of Tibetans' human rights under the eyes of an indifferent West which seems to think that human rights must not be equally valued everywhere and that human rights of Kosovars are more important than human rights of Tibetans. And we won't discuss either in this context if religion is the opiate of the people or not. In this case we prefer to state that we respect all religions and beliefs. As a matter of fact Buddhism is more a philosophy than a religion. The important thing to say is that this story is true and we hope that movie will contribute to open the eyes of the so called democratic countries to the drama of those people and force them to condemn Chinese authorities overtly for it and stop the hypocrisy of showing great indignation (sometimes feigned)for some human rights' violations while at same time disregarding some others even more brutal.

This movie is like a breath of fresh air, for once a topic well chosen. Very nicely produced, directed and and very well acted. a very moving tale that hinges not only on the 14th Dalai Lama but of the struggle for Tibetan freedom from Chinese communist imperialist rule. This movie should be more widely shown. An interesting portrayal of the cruel,bullying, arrogant imperialist Chairman Mao enjoying the good life whilst his citizens suffered. The film portrays the issues successfully and is memorable.

We should not forget Tibet and the Tibetan peoples' desire for a restoration of independence and freedom. Marvellous just marvellous.