Kundun

Kundun is a 1997 epic biographical lm 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 grandnephew of the Dalai Lama,
stars as the adult Dalai Lama.
Kundun (

The lm has a straightforward chronology with events

spanning from 1937 to 1959;[2] 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.

Wylie: sku mdun

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 latters
location and its depiction of the Dalai Lama at several
stages of his youth, though Kundun covers a period three
times longer.

These and other lamas 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, and 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 rst Dalai Lama whom the lamas called
Kundun. As the lm 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.

Plot

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 Peoples Republic of
China. Eventually, despite Tibets 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 suered 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
t, relations inevitably deteriorate. During their face-toface meeting on the nal day of the Dalai Lamas 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 ee to India.

At the beginning of the lm the two-year-old boy (Tenzin Yeshi

Paichang) is visited at his rural birthplace in Amdo by the searching lamas and undertakes a test to conrm his identity as the reborn Buddha of Compassion.

CAST

After consulting the oracle about the proper escape route,

the Dalai Lama and his sta 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 lms nal line: I think that I am a reection, 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 lm 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 Mathison,

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 The young Dalai Lama as portrayed in the lm.
blessing and his time, sitting for interviews that became
the basis of her script"; it was Mathisons suggestion that
Scorsese be brought in as director.[3]
Most of the lm was shot at the Atlas Film Studios in
Ouarzazate, Morocco; some scenes were lmed at the
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery in Woodstock,
New York.[4][5]

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 Lamas mother
Tenzin Topjar as Lobsang (age 5 to 10)
Tsewang Migyur Khangsar as Dalai Lamas father

The Dalai Lama as portrayed in the lm as a young man.

Losang Gyatso as The Messenger (as Lobsang Gyatso)

Sonam Phuntsok as Reting Rinpoche
Gyatso Lukhang as Lord Chamberlain
Lobsang Samten as Master of the Kitchen

Tenzin Lodoe as Takster Rinpoche

Jigme Tsarong as Taktra Rinpoche (as Tsewang

Jigme Tsarong)

Tsering Lhamo as Tsering Dolma

Tenzin Trinley as Ling Rinpoche

Geshi Yeshi Gyatso as Lama of Sera

Robert Lin as Chairman Mao Zedong

3
Jurme Wangda as Prime Minister Lukhangwa
Jill Hsia as Little Girl

to induce a kind of alert detachment, so that you're neither especially interested nor especially bored.[11]

Barry Norman, chief lm critic at the BBC opined that

Kundun was beautifully and intelligently made, far more
impressive, for instance, than the recent Seven Years in Ti4 Reception
bet".[12] As Kundun was released in the UK four months
after its original release Norman was able to probe ScorsThe lm (according to Roger Ebert) was made of ese about the lms promotion. Writing about his interepisodes, not a plot.[6] Even before the lm was released, view with Scorsese Norman wrote,
Chinas leaders hotly objected to Disneys plans to disYet it seems to be Scorsese, rather than the
tribute the lm, even to the point of threatening Disneys
studio, who is doing most to promote the lm.
future access to China as a market.[7] Disneys steadfastSo I asked him Did Disney back you up when
ness stood in stark contrast to Universal Pictures, which
it came out? Did they really put themselves behad earlier turned down the chance to distribute Kunhind it to try to sell it?" Now Scorsese is a dedun for fear of upsetting the Chinese.[7] Scorsese, Mathcent and diplomatic man, who likes to be fair to
ison, and several other members of the production were
everybody, but eventually he said: I personally
banned by the Chinese government from ever entering
think that, unfortunately, they didn't push the
China as a result of making the lm.[8][9]
picture. For fear of oending China? Who
The lm did poorly at the box oce, taking in less
knows?" he said. But, perhaps signicantly,
[1]
than $6 million in a limited U.S. distribution. Kunhe also said: The market China represents is
dun was nominated for four Academy Awards: for Art
enormous, not just for Disney but many other
Direction (Dante Ferretti, art direction and Francesca
corporations around the world.[12]
Lo Schiavo, set decoration), Cinematography (Roger
Deakins), Costume Design, and Original Score (Philip
Glass). The lm holds a 76% Fresh rating on Rotten
Tomatoes based on 59 reviews, indicating generally pos- 5 Inaccuracies
itive reviews.[10]
Several minor events in the lm do not match the events as
Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the lm
described in the Dalai Lamas 1990 autobiography,[13] or
emotionally remote but praises its look and its score:
as described by Diki Tsering, the Dalai Lamas mother, in
The movie is a triumph for the cinematographer Roger
her 2000 book Dalai Lama, My Son: a Mothers Story.[14]
Deakins, who has given it the look of an illuminated
manuscript. As its imagery becomes more surreal and
Early in the lm, a monk is sent in disguise as part
mystically abstract, Mr. Glasss ethereal electronic score,
of an entourage to look for the reincarnation of the
which suggests a Himalayan music of the spheres, gath14th Dalai Lama. The two-year-old Dalai Lama
ers force and energy and the music and pictures achieve
rst meets him when the monk enters the house
[2]
a sublime synergy. Richard Corliss praised the cinedressed as a servant. There are diering accounts
matography and score as well: Aided by Roger Deakins
of their rst meeting. In the Dalai Lamas memoirs,
pristine camera work and the euphoric drone of Philip
Freedom in Exile, he says he came outside to greet
Glasss score, Scorsese devises a poem of textures and
the disguised lama.[13] His mother says two monks
silences. Visions, nightmares and history blend in a
came and set canes (one belonging to the 13th Dalai
tapestry as subtle as the Tibetans gorgeous mandalas of
Lama) against the side of the house, and her son
[7]
sand. Roger Ebert gave the lm three stars out of four,
picked the correct cane up and asked the monk (not
saying: There is rarely the sense that a living, breathing
in disguise) why it was taken from him.[14] Either
and (dare I say?) fallible human inhabits the body of the
way, the rst encounter was not in the house.
Dalai Lama. Unlike Scorseses portrait of Jesus in The
Last Temptation of Christ, this is not a man striving for
In 1941, the Regent Reting Rinpoche was deposed
perfection, but perfection in the shape of a man. ... Once
and second Regent, Taktra Rinpoche, was selected
we understand that Kundun will not be a drama involvby the Dalai Lama. In his autobiography, the Dalai
ing a plausible human character, we are freed to see the
Lama recalls that he was approached and asked to
lm as it is: an act of devotion, an act even of spiritual
make a decision about who would replace Reting
desperation, ung into the eyes of 20th century materiand chose Taktra, the main candidate. In the movie,
alism. The lms visuals and music are rich and inspirthe decision is spontaneous and to Taktras surprise.
ing, and like a mass by Bach or a Renaissance church
painting, it exists as an aid to worship: It wants to en In September 1954, the Dalai Lama goes to Beihance, not question.[6] David Edelstein called the movie
a hagiography whose music ties together all the pretty
jing and meets Mao Zedong. In the lm they meet
pictures, gives the narrative some momentum, and helps
alone, but according to the Dalai Lamas memoirs,

7
his mothers memoirs, and photographic evidence,
the 10th Panchen Lama was also present.[13][14]

References

[1] Kundun from The Numbers

[2] December 24, 1997 Review from The New York Times
[3] Overview of Kundun from the Turner Classic Movies
website
[4] Karma Triyana Dharmachakra - The Monastery
[5] Young Spiritual Leader Arrives in New York Ready to
Teach and Be Taught from the New York Times 16 May
2008
[6] Review by Roger Ebert
[7] Disneys China Policy from Time magazine
[8] Change of direction for Scorsese. The Ntional.
[9] 37 Celebrities Banned From Foreign Countries.
BuzzFeed.
[10] Kundun Reviews. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved
2010-02-16.
[11] Edelstein, David (1997-12-26). Holding Their Fire.
Slate. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
[12] Martin Scorseses KUNDUN conundrum. Radio Times.
410 April 1998.
[13] Dalai Lama (1990). Freedom in Exile: the Autobiography
of the Dalai Lama. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN
0-06-039116-2.
[14] Tsering, Diki; Thondup, Khedroob (editor) (2000). Dalai
Lama, My Son: a Mothers Story. New York: Viking
Press. ISBN 0-670-88905-9.

External links
Kundun at the Internet Movie Database
Kundun at Rotten Tomatoes
Kundun at Box Oce Mojo
Kundun Buddhist viewpoints at dharmaix.com

EXTERNAL LINKS

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Kundun Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundun?oldid=646190082 Contributors: Paul Barlow, Rhorn, Skysmith, Kent Wang, David
Gerard, Nat Krause, Everyking, Khalid hassani, Gugganij, Rich Farmbrough, Xezbeth, Art LaPella, Gary, Cammoore, Erik, Themoliugecko, Hijiri88, Woohookitty, Guy M, RicJac, Descendall, Kbdank71, RiseAbove, MZMcBride, FayssalF, FlaBot, Quibus, Deeptrivia,
Chensiyuan, Korny O'Near, Sylvain1972, Whobot, Artihcus022, Bradtcordeiro, Onebravemonkey, Da Vynci, Colonies Chris, Six, Notmicro, Loodog, TheFarix, Heisencat, Cydebot, Treybien, Jainituos, Mathew5000, Thijs!bot, Barticus88, Jaxsonjo, QuasyBoy, Nick Number,
Dr. Blofeld, IrishPete, Sreejithk2000, Kaini, Andrzejbanas, Steven Walling, Froid, KConWiki, B9 hummingbird hovering, FMAFan1990,
Nsande01, Mind meal, Reedy Bot, Bothnia, Rlfb, Donmike10, VolkovBot, Johnfos, Bovineboy2008, TXiKiBoT, Martin451, SISLEY, Sfmammamia, SieBot, Champson, Zentek, Rdacteur Tibet, Goustien, Aumnamahashiva, Aradek, Hamiltondaniel, Invertzoo, Dakinijones,
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