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Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong, Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin, Tenzin Yeshi Paichang, Tencho Gyalpo ... see more see more... , Tsewang Migyur Khangsar , Sonam Phunstok , Gyatso Lukhang , Robert Lin , Sonam Phuntsok , Robert Lin (II) , Tenzin Lodoe , Tenzin Topjar

This Martin Scorsese film drama detailing the Dalai Lama's life story was in development for seven years, with the Dalai Lama having input into the 14 screenplay drafts by Melissa Mathison (The Black ... read more read more...Stallion, E.T.). With four actors portraying the Dalai Lama at different ages, Scorsese's chronicle begins in 1933 with the death of the 13th Dalai Lama. Born in a remote area, the new Dalai Lama (seen at ages two and five in early sequences) is observed by monks who determine that he is the 14th reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion. In 1944 the Dalai Lama uses newsreels and Western magazines to study WWII events, and as the war ends, he is forced to deal with Chinese Communist aggression. Protests from the Dalai Lama in 1949 are ignored as Mao (Robert Lin) maintains a military stranglehold on Tibet, eventually forcing the Dalai Lama to flee to Dharmsala, India. With a $28 million budget, Scorsese re-created Tibet's tragedy by filming in south-central Morocco with a cast of nonprofessional Tibetan actors. Second unit work took place at locations in Idaho and British Columbia. Avant-garde composer Philip Glass contributed a score with hypnotic, ritualistic overtones. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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77% liked it

10,979 ratings

Critics

76% liked it

58 critics

PG-13, 2 hr. 14 min.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Release Date: December 25, 1997

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DVD Release Date: October 13, 1998

Stats: 759 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (759)

  • danperry17
    March 4, 2012
    danperry17
    The cover of Kundun makes you think "kids movie," until you see who directed it: Scorsese. No one gets whacked, and the film is nearly bloodless, (compared to, say, Goodfellas), but if it wouldn't horrify a child, it would certainly bore one, as it's basically a biopic. This may,... read more in fact, be the one time we could accuse Scorsese of Oscar-baiting: Tibet was a hot issue in the mid-90s, and you know how much the Academy likes this kind of story (see: Gandhi), and it's almost purgatorial of him, after Casino, to turn his attention to this paragon of non-violence - as he did with Jesus, too, come to think of it. Scorsese's fascination with violence makes this - and Last Temptation of Christ - a strange choice, but then again, violence can be equally fascinating in its absence. A lot went right, but Kundun will forever be lumped with Last Temptation in the "departures" section of Scorsese's career.

    As concerns the film itself, it opens rather dully, with a strangely ominous Tibetan drum track appearing almost too often, but eventually it wraps its loving arms around you and shares excellent cinematography, insights from afar, and wonderfully unfamiliar music (by Phillip Glass). The powerful way in which the music drives the film almost makes up for a plot - discovery of the Dalai Lama, his coming of age, confrontation with Mao and his exile in India - that's somewhat rote, and for wooden acting across the board (language barrier, perhaps?). In all, it's not Scorsese's best work, but to dismiss it is to overlook some of the aspects of his films that - as the Academy recognized, with Hugo - are among the best in the industry: costuming, music, sound, cinematography, makeup... all things you can't really be the best at without having the Best Director, but I digress. Kundun is unorthodox, but if you let it, it can carry you away.
  • sanjurosamurai
    March 8, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    more than any of scorsese's films, kundun shows his remarkable range as a story teller. the film struggled to draw in real emotion at points and reverence shown to the dalai lama went too far in missing an opportunity to show his flaws, but just about every other element of this... read more film was nearly perfect. deakins cinematography was astounding, some of the best of his already mind blowing career, and the landscapes, costumes, and acting performances were all excellent. when this film is set against scorsese's gangster films as a contrast, you can really see the difference between the hate and sin of those characters and the humility and spirituality of these ones. a stunning film.
  • 76Majikat
    July 24, 2008
    76Majikat
    A film I have been wanting to see for quite some time, purely on a spiritual level and because I have an attraction toward Tibet.

    I feel I have learned a few things from this film, but at the same time I found it a little boring - which was a little disappointing.

    The film,... read more directed by Scorsese, was made well and I'm sure resembled the facts as a true story, it just wasn't as insightful as I had hoped it would be.
  • kenstachnik
    June 26, 2008
    kenstachnik
    Scorsese's amazing film about the life of the 14th Dalai Lama is something to behold.

    Schoonmaker's editing and Deakins's cinematography bring exquisite beauty to this stunning pieces of cinema
  • tsigur
    January 25, 2008
    tsigur
    It was just cool to see and the movie looks amazing.
  • rayman0071
    October 2, 2007
    rayman0071
    In all of Martin Scorsese's films,this was the lowpoint of his career and "Kundun" shows this in detail.
  • garyX
    March 5, 2007
    garyX
    A departure form Scorceses usual territory, but it's lavishly photographed, and makes fo a fascinating insight into the politics and culture of Tibet and it's people.
  • brandonklaus2
    June 14, 2009
    brandonklaus2
    Fantastic. The beginning where it deals with a child being anointed as a leader so young was what won me over and the rest of the way it kept me interested. Once again proves my theory that Scorsese is a better director than Michael Bay.
  • jimbotender
    January 30, 2011
    jimbotender
    Un-Scorsese film and yet so devoted to his spiritual subject and embrace.Enlightening progress,lovely images and the most beautiful in the clear sense of the term film by that great and unpredictable U.S. filmmaker.Will the East influence more of his later work?
  • ileo
    December 26, 2007
    ileo
    Absolute favorite of mine! Great!

View All Kundun Reviews

Critic Reviews

David Edelstein
February 1, 2010
David Edelstein, Slate

The 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. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
February 1, 2010
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Scorsese has taken the harsh mystery out of Tibetan Buddhism, and out of its oppression, too. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
December 20, 2006
Emanuel Levy, Variety

Disregarding commercial considerations, Scorsese's haunting meditation on Dalai Lama's early life is a majestic spectacle of images and sounds, but it's bogged down by a routine script that fails to o... Full Review

April 12, 2002
Globe and Mail

A great film about a good man. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
February 14, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Careful and respectful, it is everything a movie about the Dalai Lama should be except dramatically involving. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I admire Kundun for being so unreservedly committed to its vision, for being willing to cut loose from audience expectations and follow its heart. Full Review

Peter Stack
January 1, 2000
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

Stunning, odd, glorious, calm and sensationally absorbing, director Martin Scorsese's Kundun is a remarkable piece of work with vital colors and a wrenching message. Full Review

Stephen Holden
January 1, 2000
Stephen Holden, New York Times

In imagining an exalted Buddhist version of a personal road not taken, Mr. Scorsese has made a film that is as much a prayer as it is a movie. Full Review

Jeff Millar
January 1, 2000
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

Kundun is ceaselessly lovely to look at. But it is also exquisitely, meticulously, intently (gulp) ... dull.

Charles Taylor
January 1, 2000
Charles Taylor, Salon.com

Once you settle into the pace of the movie, you experience it as a continuous flow of incidents and images. Full Review

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Kundun Trivia

  • Who directed the movie Kundun?  Answer »
  • Who directed the movies After Hours, Boxcar Bertha and Kundun?  Answer »
  • Who directed "Boxcar Bertha", "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "New York, New York", "Kundun", "The Last Waltz" and "The Age of Innocence"?  Answer »
  • Harrison Ford is listed as one of 50 people barred from entering Tibet. Disney clashed with Chinese officials over the film Kundun (1997), which Ford's second wife, Melissa Mathison, wrote. (19 December 1996).   Answer »
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