Infamousta brilliant actors, brilliant editing

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Christian Kundun is the best movie about Tibet yet, and a towering biopic coming close to Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor (1987)". Scorsese seizes the opportunity to tell a historical tale with profound meaning, menace masqueraded as magnanimous philanthropy, and repercussions that last to this day two decades later.Scorsese is adapt at his craft, and gets good performance from his actors. He also relies on the strong poetry and beauty of Melissa Mathison's script who scratches the surface of Buddhist teachings. Roger Deakins' masterful cinematography gets the intimate scenes' impact and showcases Tibet's beauty on occasion. Philip Glass's haunting score is the cherry on the Sunday and the movie ends when we are ready to continue the journey.Great monologues and dialogues including delivery by the chilling and charismatic Chairman Mao are memorable. Kundun's growth as a human being and leader as well as his relationships are coherent and telling. We draw from his inner strengths, his dilemma, his weaknesses and hope for the best.We feel, we think, we learn. The movie is a slow burn and the writing, cinematography and music all become more intense until the fateful and beautiful final scene. A joy for the senses and a feeling that we do not want to movie to end.Top notch cinema which puts together the best elements for posterity.

Theo Robertson Since the name Scorsese has cropped in a couple of recent reviews of mine I thought I'd go the whole hog and review one of the few films of his I hadn't seen . In many ways KUNDUN remains the unknown film by Scorsese . I remember it being released but I very much doubted if it played outside established art house cinemas in big cities . I also remember it being very difficult to get on VHS/DVD which led me to wonder if it was ever released on this format . Despite being made almost twenty years ago I can't recall it ever being broadcast on even the more obscure and unwatched TV channels . Therefore I was somewhat surprised to see it uploaded on perhaps the most obvious platform - youtube . After watching the movie all I can say is that it probably deserves much of its obscurity Now I've got to put my hand up here and say I have militantly atheist views . As Richard Dawkins is fond of pointing out "You're only one God away from being an atheist" and so it is with all religions . I have done a bit of travelling to exotic lands and I'm often amazed how Westerners are quick to reject the idea of the Abrahamic God but are extremely open to the suggestion of Eastern mysticism along the lines of Hinduism and Buddhism . It's understandable in many ways because people are superstitious by nature and a belief in karma is only a slight extension of this superstition . Bad things happen in life and they are as common as air . Good things happen and they are as rare as the most precious commodities and we're all wondering why this must be . I'm digressing but what I should point out is that the reason I disliked this movie was not down to it being a biopic about the 14th Dalai Lama but simply because it is a badly told story regardless of its subject matter Scorsese isn't really someone who cares much for plotting . You could never see him making a high concept plot movie along the lines of MOMENTO . Instead his movies are character driven with those characters trying to find an aim in life ( Often an illegal aim ) having it all , losing it and at the end being worse off than when they started . A story like KUNDUN should be easy for Marty to develop in theory . In practise however he doesn't even try and you never for a second get the feeling you're watching a film directed by America's greatest cinema auteur According to the trivia section on this page Melissa Mathison's screenplay went through fourteen different drafts . Some people might claim the story has been rewritten to death but it's impossible to think any of the drafts could have possibly been worse than the final product . It contains two distinctive parts of the Lama's life - his childhood and then his escape from Tibet which is annexed by Red China . Both parts contain a whole lot of nothing . The screenplay drags at a snail's pace which makes for a very boring and totally uninvolving film Scorsese seems unable to improve upon the very poor material as though his heart isn't in the story . The worst aspect is that he's made a film with a totally amateur cast . Worse than that despite being an obvious amateur cast it's an amateur cast who don't speak English as a first language which means they deliver their lines in an absolutely dreadful way . You've probably seen less wooden acting at a primary school play . To give the director his due he has given the cinematography gig to the legendary Roger Deakins so at least we have a good looking movie and the costume design is very impressive but at the end of the day KUNDUN is all about faith and our faith as a cinema audience is left unpaid regardless of our religious views

Peter Grunbaum I excepted a lot from this movie, and it did deliver. There is some great Buddhist wisdom in this movie. The real Dalai Lama is a very interesting person, and I think there is a lot of wisdom in Buddhism. The music, of course, sounds like Koyanisquatsi because it is by Philip Glass. This adds to the beauty of the movie. Whereas other biographies of famous people tend to get very poor this movie always stays focused and gives a good and honest portrayal of the Dalai Lama. All things being equal, it is a great movie, and I really enjoyed it. It is not like Taxi Driver of course but as a biography of a famous person it is really a great film indeed.

filmnathan The story is of how His Holiness Dalai Lama was found as a child until teenage years as he he faces exile escaping Mao's invading People's Liberation Army. The pace may be slow but the views stunning and the moral dilemma compelling. Scorsese poses the question: faced with violence, how does a leader fight for survival with Buddhist compassion? With the growing violence we see on the international headlines, this film is highly relevant both spiritually and ethically for all countries and peoples.Seen on a large screen, with a brush of the sands and my tears, this film changed my life. I support many first nations that have suffered killings and wish we can redress the wrongs. Seven Years in Tibet was also good but this movie changed my life and made me study the different branches of Buddhism and found much peace in meditation. Not bad for a few hours by an under-rated master, Scorsese.