# Kundun (1997)

### reviewed by
Ted Prigge

    KUNDUN (1997)
    A Film Review by Ted Prigge
    Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge

Director: Martin Scorsese Writer: Melissa Mathison Starring: Tenzin Thutob Tsarong, Gyurume Tethong, Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin, Tenzin Yeshi Paichang, Tencho Gyalpo, Tsewang Migyur Khangsar, Geshi Yeshi Gyatso, Sonam Phuntsok, Gyatso Lukhang, Robert Lin

The Dalai Lama is one of the most poignant and eclectic characters of all time, being the compassoinate Buddha in human form. He's a man who is all wise, very forgiving, and much against violence. The emphasis of Scorsese's new biopic on him (indeed, his most positive biopic of a person - look at how he looked at Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull") is to try and understand the man as who he is by examining how he was chosen to be Kundun, the other name for the Dalai Lama, from the time when he was a child.

In his presentation, Kundun is seen as being chosen by fate to become this great man who is born again and again and again throughout the centuries, so that when one dies, another one is born. At the age of 2 (played by Tenzin Yeshi Paichang), he was found by a wandering group of religious men who discover who he is by placing several items that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama and several more that didn't, and seeing which ones the boy picks. He picks the right ones, and the boy is named the 14th Dalai Lama.

Scorsese's view of how this happens shows a boy growing up with a heavy burden. Again and again, he is told by his followers that he will "soon have great responsibilities," and in one scene, shown a cryptic letter the 13th Dalai Lama wrote before he died and asked to decipher it, as he apparently wrote it in his previous life. Scorsese's portrayal of the Dalai Lama sounds faintly like the way he presented the flawed Jesus in "The Last Temptation of Christ," but instead of a man who is believed to be perfection, Kundun is perfection.

The film has no real plot, as it takes us into the world of Kundun, showing us how he became the Dalai Lama, and how he is learning to be him every day. Four actors play Kundun in several parts of his life (Tenzin Thutob Tsarong at his oldest), and in each of them, they show a degree of ignorance to what they are that decreases throughout the years. As a young boy, he is asked a big question, to which he replies "But I'm just a boy." By the film's end, he has become the Dalai Lama, a wise man who has had to make a decision that has alienated himself from his country who needs him.

While the first half is plotless and merely allows us to be an ehtnographer to what is going on, the second half gains a bit of a plot as the threat of China trying to retake Tibet (his country, if you didn't already know) and command its religious, peaceful inhabitants becomes more and more ominous. Kundun even journeys to China to meet with their leader, Mao Zedong (played by lookalike Robert Lin), but to no avail. The sad ending shows Kundun leaving his country disguised as a regular soldier, and has never returned.

While "Kundun" is a marvelous history lesson that will probably be shown by high school teachers once it comes to video, it's also a hypnotic descent into a world many people don't know about. I know almost nothing about Tibet and Buddhism, and the film shows us an unadulterated, authentic look at the culture and beauty of the country and its religion. By the film's end, we see their necessity for religion, and how their beliefs don't allow them to do any mortal harm to anyone else.

This is also a work of Tibetan and relgious propaganda, never really getting deep into China's side. They are shown as being communist atheists, killing and polluting other peaceful cultures, and trying to silence the spread of Buddhism (Chairman Mao tells Kundun that "religion is poison" at one point). The film never shows the Chinese side, and therefore seems a bit narrow in its scope of the Tibetan Freedom controversy. Alas, this is not the point of the film, as it is really trying to understand the enigma known as the Dalai Lama.

But even this is not done as perfectly as it should. The big problem is that Scorsese and the film's writer Melissa Mathison have too much respect for Kundun, and are therefore unable to present him in an unbiased light. But the film still presents him wonderfully, shown as a man who is perfect, but gained that throughout the years, not being born that way. The young Kundun is not a perfect being, but gains this through experience. But at the end, Kundun is still a mystery, which is probably for the better. To believe that any man can be perfect takes a leap of faith anyway, and this film knows that.

Among other things, "Kundun" is the best looking film in a long time. Roger Deakins' cinematography (he also did "Fargo," but was snubbed) is perhaps the most gorgeous since "Lawrence of Arabia," and the entire film is a hypnotic palate of gorgeous, memorable images and sequences. Philip Glass's music is enigmatic, accentuating the already amazing feel of the film. A cult favorite who's done certain films as the beautiful "Koyannisquati," the man may finally get the Oscar he really deserves. A large colored mosaic made of dirt is one of the many beautiful things that abound in this movie, as well as the skilled camerawork and direction by Scorsese.

What's left over is a deeper knowledge of the Dalai Lama and a film that is hypnotically engaging. There is really nothing better than a film that can transport its viewers to another world and even enlighten them. While it's not the greatest film and has its share of flaws, its nonetheless another amazing film from Scorsese that looks at things in another light that many other directors wouldn't even dare touch.

    MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2

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