Kundun

I rented Kundun to further my quest to see all the Scorsese movies I can. I never expected such an incredible movie. I didn't want this movie to end. It's really difficult to describe how I feel about this movie since I have only viewed it once and was completely blown away, it left me in complete awe.

Like most when I first started watching Scorsese I thought that he did brilliant gangster films and that was his thing, but I have recently discovered that this couldn't be further from the truth. Fist seeing The Last Temptation of Christ and now Kundun I wouldn't care if Scorsese ever made another gangster film. It is easy to see that he is an artistic genius, the acting in the film was great, but I could have watched it on mute and still have been amazed.

If, like I was, you are unfamiliar with the Buddhist religion and the Chinese takeover of Tibet this film has even more to offer. Scorsese's risk of using real Buddhists to do all of the acting payed off better than I ever expected it would, the fact that we are hearing the story through the people it affected adds another level to this movie.

I cannot believe that this film only has a rating of 7 on this site. If you are a fan of Scorsese and are not sure you are going to like this just give it a chance, it deserves at least one viewing, if you give it that I am sure you will be amazed as I was. Scorsese's vision's in this movie are unlike any of his films, not to mention a great score by Phillip Glass.

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.

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.

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.