grantss Well-intentioned, but dull. Seven Years in Tibet gave a good and interesting account of the life of 14th Dalai Lama, particularly the Chinese invasion, capture and oppression of Tibet. I was expecting the same of Kundun. I was overly optimistic.Martin Scorsese does capture the outrage and injustice of China's invasion of Tibet, but only to small degree. Too much time is wasted on scenes and sub-plots that go nowhere. The movie moves at a glacial pace.However, cinematography is great. Some amazing landscapes. Sadly, not actually of Tibet. Strangely, the Chinese wouldn't let Scorsese film there.... However, you wouldn't know the difference, showing how well the locations were chosen.Performances are very flat, and contribute much to the dullness of the movie.Watch Seven Years in Tibet instead.

serraascendant Kundun is a movie about the search for the Dalai Llama. In the beginning, a monk comes to search for the next Dalai Llama. He finds a young boy named Lhamo, who initially seems like a very self-centered, short-tempered child. However, the monks give Lhamo a test by placing a series of objects in front of him, to see if he will chose the objects that belonged to the preceding Dalai Llama.Then, upon passing the test, Lhamo is taken to the monastery where he begins to grow up and mature. He meets Regent Reting Rinpoche, who was the man that discovered Lhamo's existence through a vision he had while sleeping. However, the Chinese Communists imprison and kill Regent Reting Rinpoche, and Lhamo meets with Chairman Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong expresses to Lhamo that "religion is poison", and they are never able to settle on any agreements. Lhamo, upon being pursued by the Chinese, flees to the Indian Mountains. At a mountain border crossing, an Indian guard asks Lhamo if he is the Lord Buddha, and Lhamo replies, "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."Personally, one of my favorite parts about the movie was the scene where Lhamo is picking up the objects that are placed in front of him by the monks. It's a very exciting scene, as Lhamo initially gives off the impression that he is a very spoiled child, and it's hard to imagine that he will chose the correct objects and eventually train to become the Dalai Llama.I would recommend this movie to anyone who has a particular interest in the process of discovering the next Dalai Llama, and is interested in the political aspect and implications of being the leader of a religious group.

Boba_Fett1138 Probably the foremost reason why most people are disappointed with this movie is because it's a Martin Scorsese movie, without anything about it that screams out Martin Scorsese. It probably was simply a subject he had a real interest and love for, which blinded him it seems. Sure, it focuses on its main subject but everything surrounding it gets completely ignored it seemed, which made this movie mostly a disappointing watch.Don't go watch this movie expecting to learn everything about Tibet, Buddhism or the Dalai Lama. Seriously, after watching this movie I don't feel like I have learned anything. It doesn't explain anything about the religion and rituals, or tells you what the Dalai Lama is all about and what he stands for. It actually made this a very shallow movie experience, which I never could feel involved with. The only way I could see this movie being interesting, is if you are already into the subject and have some basic knowledge about it.For a movie with a subject such as this one has, it's surprisingly lacking depth. You would expect the movie to be filled with ancient wisdoms concerning spirituality, knowledge and peace. Absolutely none of that present in this movie. It simply follows its main subject around and that's it really. Evertyhing that happens around him and every story aspects that potentially could had been interesting gets handled poorly and all remains very underdeveloped.Another thing that felt wrong about this movie was its acting. The movie uses non-professionals of Tibetan descent, forced to speak English. If first of all feels wrong to hear them all speak English but next to that, the acting itself from most of the actors is far from anything too impressive.No, it's not like I hated this movie. After all, it remains perfectly watchable but it never got interesting or involving enough in any way. What saves it is that it's still a technically well made movie, that is great looking as well. Most people will praise the cinematographer or director for this but in some cases, such as this one, you should simply give most credit the natural environments. I mean, I don't think it was possible for the film-makers to let this movie look ugly, even if they tried really hard to do so.Too distant and shallow to call this a great or recommendable movie.6/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

oneguyrambling OK. Lately I've watched nothing but horror movies and silly comedies so I thought I would broaden my horizons somewhat and grab a more serious film and perhaps try to learn something for a change.I've now done that and can't say I feel that appreciably better for the experience.It must be a pretty weird feeling for a 2 or 3 year old kid to be told he is to run a country, and one that I might never experience - given I am nearer 40.The problem with Kundun is the subject matter. The movie concerns the discovery and life of the 14th (and current) Dalai Lama, and of course there is a fair amount of time focusing on the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet. Now I am not saying this isn't a worthwhile and amazing life, only that most people with a 7th grade education know this already, and unlike say "Saving Private Ryan", where we know the story but go for the ride because of the action, there just isn't much action to be found in Kundun.We meet the 14th Dalai Lama when his folks still call him his given name, which I don't remember hearing. Once he is chosen, he is immediately taken from his parents for training over the ensuing years to be the spiritual leader of Tibet. Being a pre-pubescent leader of a nation has its disadvantages believe it or not, at one point the young Dalai Lama is being briefed on the less than friendly intentions of neighbouring China, being reasonably practical he asks:"How many soldiers (does Tibet have)?" "5,000" "So many! That's a lot, well we are safe here."Of course then China decides that when you are a billion strong "No" doesn't necessarily mean "No", they invade and commence an occupation of Tibet. They attempt to influence the people and grease the wheels through manipulating the Dalai Lama - who initially fled for his safety, only to return to face the music and be a figurehead to his people.According to the film the discussions and dealings between the Chinese and the Dalai Lama were cordial and mostly above board, again in reality history has not been so kind to the Chinese where the dealings with the Tibetan people are concerned. I am amazed with the access that the Chinese people had that they never killed him, regardless of the backlash from a people that already resented their presence.As we all now know the Dalai Lama is one of the most revered pacifists on the planet, and unfortunately relations between Tibet and China are still frosty at best. Throughout the entire period of exile - which now spans many decades - he has maintained that China must leave Tibet but has never suggested violence or aggressive action of any kind. His teachings are followed (more than) fervently by millions and in reality the world would be a far better place if even more people lived a little more like him. But I am not discussing his life or existence, merely Martin Scorscese's representation of it, and unfortunately while it is a worthwhile story that deserves telling, if you are aware of the basics it doesn't bring much more to the table than a Movie of the Week.Final Rating for the Dalai Lama – 10 / 10. Great bloke. We should all try to be more like him in our daily lives.Final Rating – 7 / 10. If you don't know the basics of the 14th Dalai Lama's life, watch it for the information. If you do it doesn't bring much more to the table.If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com