Kundun
Encyclopedia
Kundun is a 1997 epic biographical film
written by Melissa Mathison
and directed by Martin Scorsese
. It is based on the life and writings of the 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet
. Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, a grand nephew of the Dalai Lama, stars as the adult Dalai Lama.
"Kundun" (སྐུ་མདུན་ in Tibetan
), meaning "presence", is a title by which the Dalai Lama
is addressed. Kundun was released only a few months after Seven Years in Tibet
, sharing the latter's location and its depiction of the Dalai Lama at several stages of his youth, though Kundun covers a period three times longer.
The film — "made of episodes, not a plot" — has a straightforward chronology with events spanning from 1937 to 1959; the setting is Tibet
, except for brief sequences in China
and India
. It begins with the search for the 14th mindstream
emanation
of the Dalai Lama
. After a vision
by Reting Rinpoche
(the regent
of Tibet) several lamas disguised as servants discover a promising candidate: a child born to a farming family in the province of Amdo
, near the Chinese border
.
These and other lama
s administer a test to the child in which he must select from various objects the ones that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama. The child passes the test; he and his family are brought to Potala Palace
in Lhasa
, where he will be installed as Dalai Lama when he comes of age
.
During the journey, the child becomes homesick
and frightened, but is comforted by Reting, who tells him the story of the first Dalai Lama — whom the lamas called "Kundun". As the film progresses, the boy matures in both age and learning. After a brief power struggle in which Reting is imprisoned and dies, the Dalai Lama begins taking a more active role in governance
and religious
leadership.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communists, recently victorious in their revolution, are proclaiming Tibet a traditional part of Imperial China, and express their desire to reincorporate it with the newly formed People's Republic of China
. Eventually, despite Tibet's pleas to the United Nations
, the United States
, the United Kingdom
, and India
for intervention, Chinese Communist forces invade Tibet. The Chinese are initially helpful, but when the Tibetans resist Communist reorganization and reeducation of their society, the Chinese become oppressive.
Following a series of atrocities suffered by his people, the Dalai Lama resolves to meet with Chairman Mao Zedong
in Beijing
. While Mao initially expresses his sympathies to the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama, and insists that changes must be made as the Dalai Lama sees fit, relations inevitably deteriorate. During their face-to-face meeting on the final day of the Dalai Lama's visit, Mao makes clear his view that "religion is poison" and that the Tibetans are "poisoned and inferior" because of it.
Upon his return to Tibet, the Dalai Lama learns of more horrors perpetrated against his people, who have by now repudiated their treaty
with China and begun guerrilla action
against the Chinese. After the Chinese make clear their intention to kill him, the Dalai Lama is convinced by his family and his Lord Chamberlain to flee to India.
After consulting the oracle
about the proper escape route, the Dalai Lama and his staff put on disguises and slip out of Lhasa under cover of darkness. During an arduous journey, throughout which they are pursued by the Chinese, the Dalai Lama becomes very ill and experiences several visions of the past and future. The group eventually makes it to a small mountain pass on the Indian border. As the Dalai Lama walks to the guard post, an Indian guard
approaches him, salutes, and inquires: "May I ask, are you the Lord Buddha
?" The Dalai Lama replies with the film's final line: "I think that I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and I try to be a good man, you see yourself."
Once the Dalai Lama arrives at his new residence, he unpacks his telescope and steps outside. Erecting it and removing his spectacles, he gazes through it toward the Himalayas-and toward Tibet.
The film concludes with two lines printed on screen:
The Dalai Lama has not yet returned to Tibet. He hopes one day to make the journey.
, whose best-known work was E.T.
, met with the Dalai Lama and asked him if she could write about his life. According to Turner Classic Movies
, "he gave her his blessing and his time, sitting for interviews that became the basis of her script"; it was Mathison's suggestion that Scorsese be brought in as director.
Most of the film was shot at the Atlas Film Studios in Ouarzazate
, Morocco
; some scenes were filmed at the Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
monastery in Woodstock, New York
.
plans to distribute the film, even to the point of threatening Disney's future access to China as a market. Disney's steadfastness stood in stark contrast to Universal Pictures
, which had earlier "turned down the chance to distribute Kundun for fear of upsetting the Chinese." Scorsese, Mathison, and several other members of the production were banned by the Chinese government from ever entering China as a result of making the film. The film did poorly at the box office, taking in less than $6 million in a limited U.S. distribution. Kundun was nominated for four Academy Awards
: for Art Direction
(Dante Ferretti
, art direction and Francesca Lo Schiavo
, set decoration), Cinematography
(Roger Deakins
), Costume Design
, and Original Score
(Philip Glass
). The film currently holds a 76% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
based on 59 reviews, indicating generally positive reviews.
Stephen Holden
of The New York Times
called the film "emotionally remote" but praises its look and its score: "The movie is a triumph for the cinematographer Roger Deakins
, who has given it the look of an illuminated manuscript. As its imagery becomes more surreal and mystically abstract, Mr. Glass's
ethereal electronic score, which suggests a Himalyan music of the spheres, gathers force and energy and the music and pictures achieve a sublime synergy." Richard Corliss
praised the cinematography and score as well: "Aided by Roger Deakins' pristine camera work and the euphoric drone of Philip Glass's score, Scorsese devises a poem of textures and silences. Visions, nightmares and history blend in a tapestry as subtle as the Tibetans' gorgeous mandala
s of sand." Roger Ebert
gave the film three stars out of four, saying: "There is rarely the sense that a living, breathing and (dare I say?) fallible human inhabits the body of the Dalai Lama. Unlike Scorsese's portrait of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ
, this is not a man striving for perfection, but perfection in the shape of a man. ... Once we understand that "Kundun" will not be a drama involving a plausible human character, we are freed to see the film as it is: an act of devotion, an act even of spiritual desperation, flung into the eyes of 20th century materialism. The film's visuals and music are rich and inspiring, and like a mass by Bach or a Renaissance church painting, it exists as an aid to worship: It wants to enhance, not question." David Edelstein
called the movie a hagiography
whose "music ties together all the pretty pictures, gives the narrative some momentum, and helps to induce a kind of alert detachment, so that you're neither especially interested nor especially bored."
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
written by Melissa Mathison
Melissa Mathison
Melissa Mathison , sometimes credited as Josh Rogan, is an American film and television screenwriter.-Career:She is perhaps most notable for writing the screenplays for the films E.T...
and directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
. It is based on the life and writings of the 14th Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, a grand nephew of the Dalai Lama, stars as the adult Dalai Lama.
"Kundun" (སྐུ་མདུན་ in Tibetan
Tibetan script
The Tibetan alphabet is an abugida of Indic origin used to write the Tibetan language as well as the Dzongkha language, Denzongkha, Ladakhi language and sometimes the Balti language. The printed form of the alphabet is called uchen script while the hand-written cursive form used in everyday...
), meaning "presence", is a title by which the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
is addressed. Kundun was released only a few months after Seven Years in Tibet
Seven Years in Tibet (1997 film)
Seven Years in Tibet is a 1997 film based on the book of the same name written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer on his experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War, the interim period, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army's invasion of Tibet in 1950. The film...
, sharing the latter's location and its depiction of the Dalai Lama at several stages of his youth, though Kundun covers a period three times longer.
Plot
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, except for brief sequences in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It begins with the search for the 14th mindstream
Mindstream
Mindstream in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment "continuum" of awareness. There are a number of terms in the Buddhist literature that may well be rendered "mindstream"...
emanation
Tulpa
Tulpa is an upaya concept in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, discipline and teaching tool. The term was first rendered into English as 'Thoughtform' by Evans-Wentz :...
of the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
. After a vision
Vision (religion)
In spirituality, a vision is something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy, especially a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation.Visions generally have more clarity than dreams, but traditionally fewer psychological connotations...
by Reting Rinpoche
Reting Rinpoche
Reting Rinpoche is the title held by abbots of Reting Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in central Tibet. The identity of the present Reting Rinpoche is contested.-History of the lineage:...
(the regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of Tibet) several lamas disguised as servants discover a promising candidate: a child born to a farming family in the province of Amdo
Amdo
Amdo is one of the three traditional regions of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river . While culturally and ethnically a Tibetan area, Amdo has been administered by a...
, near the Chinese border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
.
These and other lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s administer a test to the child in which he must select from various objects the ones that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama. The child passes the test; he and his family are brought to Potala Palace
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara...
in Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, where he will be installed as Dalai Lama when he comes of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
.
During the journey, the child becomes homesick
Homesickness
Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects....
and frightened, but is comforted by Reting, who tells him the story of the first Dalai Lama — whom the lamas called "Kundun". As the film progresses, the boy matures in both age and learning. After a brief power struggle in which Reting is imprisoned and dies, the Dalai Lama begins taking a more active role in governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
and religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
leadership.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communists, recently victorious in their revolution, are proclaiming Tibet a traditional part of Imperial China, and express their desire to reincorporate it with the newly formed People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Eventually, despite Tibet's pleas to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
for intervention, Chinese Communist forces invade Tibet. The Chinese are initially helpful, but when the Tibetans resist Communist reorganization and reeducation of their society, the Chinese become oppressive.
Following a series of atrocities suffered by his people, the Dalai Lama resolves to meet with Chairman Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. While Mao initially expresses his sympathies to the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama, and insists that changes must be made as the Dalai Lama sees fit, relations inevitably deteriorate. During their face-to-face meeting on the final day of the Dalai Lama's visit, Mao makes clear his view that "religion is poison" and that the Tibetans are "poisoned and inferior" because of it.
Upon his return to Tibet, the Dalai Lama learns of more horrors perpetrated against his people, who have by now repudiated their treaty
Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet
The Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, or the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet for short, is the document by which the delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama allegedly reached an...
with China and begun guerrilla action
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
against the Chinese. After the Chinese make clear their intention to kill him, the Dalai Lama is convinced by his family and his Lord Chamberlain to flee to India.
After consulting the oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
about the proper escape route, the Dalai Lama and his staff put on disguises and slip out of Lhasa under cover of darkness. During an arduous journey, throughout which they are pursued by the Chinese, the Dalai Lama becomes very ill and experiences several visions of the past and future. The group eventually makes it to a small mountain pass on the Indian border. As the Dalai Lama walks to the guard post, an Indian guard
Border guard
The border guard, frontier guard, border patrol, border police, or frontier police of a country is a national security agency that performs border control, i.e., enforces the security of the country's national borders....
approaches him, salutes, and inquires: "May I ask, are you the Lord Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
?" The Dalai Lama replies with the film's final line: "I think that I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and I try to be a good man, you see yourself."
Once the Dalai Lama arrives at his new residence, he unpacks his telescope and steps outside. Erecting it and removing his spectacles, he gazes through it toward the Himalayas-and toward Tibet.
The film concludes with two lines printed on screen:
The Dalai Lama has not yet returned to Tibet. He hopes one day to make the journey.
Production
The project began when screenwriter Melissa MathisonMelissa Mathison
Melissa Mathison , sometimes credited as Josh Rogan, is an American film and television screenwriter.-Career:She is perhaps most notable for writing the screenplays for the films E.T...
, whose best-known work was E.T.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, met with the Dalai Lama and asked him if she could write about his life. According to Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, "he gave her his blessing and his time, sitting for interviews that became the basis of her script"; it was Mathison's suggestion that Scorsese be brought in as director.
Most of the film was shot at the Atlas Film Studios in Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate
-See also:* Tizi n'Tichka: The mountain pass that leads to Ouarzazate* List of Movies shot in Morocco-External links:* at IMDb...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
; some scenes were filmed at the Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, New York, USA, which serves as the North American seat of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage. It was founded in 1976 by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. The abbot has been Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche...
monastery in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
.
Cast
- Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong as Dalai Lama (Adult)
- Gyurme Tethong as Dalai Lama (Age 12)
- Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin as Dalai Lama (Age 5)
- Tenzin Yeshi Paichang as Dalai Lama (Age 2)
- Tencho Gyalpo as Dalai Lama's mother
- Tenzin Topjar as Lobsang (age 5 to 10)
- Tsewang Migyur Khangsar as Dalai Lama's father
- Tenzin Lodoe as Takster Rinpoche
- Tsering Lhamo as Tsering Dolma
- Geshi Yeshi Gyatso as Lama of Sera
- Losang Gyatso as The Messenger (as Lobsang Gyatso)
- Sonam Phuntsok as Reting RinpocheReting RinpocheReting Rinpoche is the title held by abbots of Reting Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in central Tibet. The identity of the present Reting Rinpoche is contested.-History of the lineage:...
- Gyatso Lukhang as Lord Chamberlain
- Lobsang Samten as Master of the Kitchen
- Jigme Tsarong as Taktra Rinpoche (as Tsewang Jigme Tsarong)
- Tenzin Trinley as Ling RinpocheLing RinpocheKyabje Ling Rinpoche was a Tibetan buddhist scholar and teacher.Born in Tibet, northwest of Lhasa, he also was the 97th Ganden Tripa and senior tutor to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The Ganden Tripa is the spiritual head of the Gelugpa Sect, the largest sect in Tibetan Buddhism. Kyabje Ling...
- Robert Lin as Chairman Mao ZedongMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
- Jurme Wangda as Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Lukhangwa - Jill Hsia as Little Girl
Reception
Even before the film was released, China's leaders hotly objected to Disney'sThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
plans to distribute the film, even to the point of threatening Disney's future access to China as a market. Disney's steadfastness stood in stark contrast to Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, which had earlier "turned down the chance to distribute Kundun for fear of upsetting the Chinese." Scorsese, Mathison, and several other members of the production were banned by the Chinese government from ever entering China as a result of making the film. The film did poorly at the box office, taking in less than $6 million in a limited U.S. distribution. Kundun was nominated for four Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: for Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Dante Ferretti
Dante Ferretti
Dante Ferretti is an Italian production designer, art director and costume designer for films.In his career, Ferretti has worked with many great directors, both American and Italian, such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam, Franco Zeffirelli, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford...
, art direction and Francesca Lo Schiavo
Francesca Lo Schiavo
Francesca Lo Schiavo is an Italian set decorator.She has been nominated for an Academy Award seven times, winning twice, and is married to Dante Ferretti, a fellow art director...
, set decoration), Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
(Roger Deakins
Roger Deakins
Roger Antony Deakins, ASC, BSC is an English cinematographer best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers. Deakins is a member of both the American and British Society of Cinematographers...
), Costume Design
Academy Award for Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
, and Original Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
(Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
). The film currently holds a 76% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 59 reviews, indicating generally positive reviews.
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film "emotionally remote" but praises its look and its score: "The movie is a triumph for the cinematographer Roger Deakins
Roger Deakins
Roger Antony Deakins, ASC, BSC is an English cinematographer best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers. Deakins is a member of both the American and British Society of Cinematographers...
, who has given it the look of an illuminated manuscript. As its imagery becomes more surreal and mystically abstract, Mr. Glass's
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
ethereal electronic score, which suggests a Himalyan music of the spheres, gathers force and energy and the music and pictures achieve a sublime synergy." Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
praised the cinematography and score as well: "Aided by Roger Deakins' pristine camera work and the euphoric drone of Philip Glass's score, Scorsese devises a poem of textures and silences. Visions, nightmares and history blend in a tapestry as subtle as the Tibetans' gorgeous mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
s of sand." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three stars out of four, saying: "There is rarely the sense that a living, breathing and (dare I say?) fallible human inhabits the body of the Dalai Lama. Unlike Scorsese's portrait of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ
The Last Temptation of Christ (film)
The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
, this is not a man striving for perfection, but perfection in the shape of a man. ... Once we understand that "Kundun" will not be a drama involving a plausible human character, we are freed to see the film as it is: an act of devotion, an act even of spiritual desperation, flung into the eyes of 20th century materialism. The film's visuals and music are rich and inspiring, and like a mass by Bach or a Renaissance church painting, it exists as an aid to worship: It wants to enhance, not question." David Edelstein
David Edelstein
David Edelstein is the chief film critic for New York Magazine, as well as the film critic for NPR's Fresh Air and CBS Sunday Morning. He lives in Brooklyn, New York....
called the movie a hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
whose "music ties together all the pretty pictures, gives the narrative some momentum, and helps to induce a kind of alert detachment, so that you're neither especially interested nor especially bored."
Inaccuracies
Several minor events in the film do not match the events as described in the Dalai Lama's 1990 autobiography, or as described by Diki Tsering, the Dalai Lama's mother, in her 2000 book Dalai Lama, My Son: a Mother's Story.- Early in the film, a monk is sent in disguise as part of an entourage to look for the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama14th Dalai LamaThe 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
. The two-year-old Dalai Lama first meets him when the monk enters the house dressed as a servant. There are differing accounts of their first meeting. In the Dalai Lama's memoirs, Freedom in ExileFreedom in ExileFreedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama is the second autobiography of the 14th Dalai Lama, released in 1991. The Dalai Lama's first autobiography, My Land and My People, was published in 1962, a few years after he reestablished himself in India and before he became an international...
, he says he came outside to greet the disguised lama. His mother says two monks came and set canes (one belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama) against the side of the house, and her son picked the correct cane up and asked the monk (not in disguise) why it was taken from him. Either way, the first encounter was not in the house.
- In 1941, the Regent Reting RinpocheReting RinpocheReting Rinpoche is the title held by abbots of Reting Monastery, a Buddhist monastery in central Tibet. The identity of the present Reting Rinpoche is contested.-History of the lineage:...
was deposed and second Regent, Taktra RinpocheTaktra RinpocheNgawang Sungrab Thutob was the third Taktra Rinpoche, Wylie transliteration: sTag-brag pandita and regent of Tibet.He was responsible for raising and educating the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso....
, was selected by the Dalai Lama. In his autobiography, the Dalai Lama recalls that he was approached and asked to make a decision about who would replace Reting and chose Taktra, the main candidate. In the movie, the decision is spontaneous and to Taktra's surprise.
- In September 1954, the Dalai Lama goes to Beijing and meets Mao ZedongMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
. In the film they meet alone, but according to the Dalai Lama's memoirs, his mother's memoirs, and photographic evidence, the 10th Panchen Lama was also present.
External links
- Kundun Buddhist viewpoints at dharmaflix.com