Kundun

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Year: 1997 

Writer: Melissa Mathison   

Director: Martin Scorsese 

Budget: 28 million (estimated)

Domestic Gross: $5 532 301

even great directors like martin scorsese make a bad movie sometimes (i personally wasn't a big fan of Gangs Of New York), however sometimes they just make a movie that doesn't do well - which as we know doesn't always reflect on the actual quality of the film (this is what filmed but not forgotten is all about people).  Kundun is one such film.  Kundun was released in 1997, the same year as the other dalai lama movie Seven Years In Tibet.  Seven Years made more money, but Kundun was the much better film.

rather then telling the story through the eyes of a westerner, as 7 Years did with brad pitts character, Kundun tells the story of the 14th dalai lama through his eyes (what a crazy concept).  It's obvious why 7 Years approached it the way they did - in order to have a big name star in the role and not alienate the general audience with all no-name tibetan actors - kind of like what they did with tom cruise in The Last Samurai.

Kundun begins in 1937 when a two year old tibetan baby is identified as the reincarnation of the dalai lama, the compassionate buddha.  the story then follows the child's life as he grows up, is schooled as a monk, sees his country invaded by china, travels to meet chairman mao and in 1959 becomes ill and flees to india.

scorsese tells the story beautifully, taking us on this powerful journey with the dalai lama and making us feel his story directly - rather then indirectly through some other character - the one scene of many that still stands out in my head is one in which the dalai lama is having a vision of the slaughter of hundreds of monks and the camera just starts on one and slowly rises to reveal a huge area covered with slain monks.  the cinematography by the great roger deakins is gorgeous - deakins is one of the best cinematographers of the last 20 years working on such films as O Brother Where Art Thou, The Man Who Wasn't There, A Beautiful Mind, Fargo and Jarhead (see what i mean). 

the music must also be mentioned as must the composer of the score, philip glass.  glass has composed operas, dance and theater pieces and scored many movies - the two that stand out in my mind without even thinking about it are Kundun and The Truman Show.  the beautiful and evocative music fits the film perfectly.

scorsese is one of the great film makers of his generation, but when asked to name his great works, people usually remember Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino and now The Departed (just saw it last week and it is really good).  however, i am here to remind you about one you might have skipped because it doesn't sound like a scorsese film, or forgotten about cause it left theaters pretty quickly and got jipped out of an oscar nomination.  Kundun is one that deserves to be mentioned with the others in this master film makers oeuvre.

Comments

[Joe J.]

Kundun was perhaps the one Scorsese film (maybe Boxcar Bertha) that didn't feel like Scorsese. But you're right, that isn't an insult and not an excuse for ignoring this work.There's a warmth in this movie that speaks of personal affection and response and makes this worth watching.

[Gary]

The first time I saw Kundun it was in a theater with a friend. I remember thinking that if we wanted to see it we had better jump on it because it didn't seem like it was going to stay around for long. Unfortunately I was right because on opening weekend there was only five people in the theater when we saw it.

Kundun is visual poetry. Lacking a normal narrative the action of the movie takes a back seat to the textures and sensations that flash across the screen. In a typical film, the main character manifests a goal that he takes action to achieve. Not so in Kundun. The main character may have an overall quasi-goal of becoming a great Dalai Lama and leading his people to prosperity but for most of the movie he dosen't take action to do this. He spend most of it reacting to the events of the story that surround him. This puts the viewer in an unusual positon where the conscious mind tries to piece together a story told in narrative fragments. Where reflective decision, thought and meditation is substituted for action. I think this leaves your subconscious free to absorb the movie in a different kind of way. It flips the normal viewing method.

Uncluttered by having to follow the story it's more open to the visual, the color, the textures and movements of how the story is told. Which is the land of the artist. Kundun is a peek inside how an artist sees the world. How the mundane and the strange collide to make art.

Most of the time, how a movie is shot, framed, the music used, the set decorated, etc. sinks in unconsciously while you follow the main character through his trial and tribulations. Kundun flips this by making you keenly aware that all the above is primarily the thing you notice, leaving the narrative to sink underneath into your subconscious.

You should check your analytical mind at the door and try to understand not only in a logical way but in a sensually impressionistic way. What the movie is trying to say.