Kundun
| Kundun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Martin Scorsese |
| Written by | Melissa Mathison |
| Produced by | Barbara De Fina |
Release date | 1997 |
Running time | 134 min |
| Language | English |
Kundun is a 1997 film written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Martin Scorsese, both of whom (along with several other members of the production) were banned by the Chinese Government from ever entering Tibet as a result of making the film. It is based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama. It did poorly at the box office, but was generally praised by critics. Some criticized the movie as hagiographic, but many found it exceptionally moving and stunning, even within Scorcese's impressive oeuvre.
The majority of the film was shot in Morocco.
Plot
Template:Spoiler Except for brief sequences in China and India, the film is set entirely in Tibet. It begins with the search by Reting Rinpoche (the regent of Tibet) for the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Reting, following a vision he has had, discovers the location of a promising candidate: a child born to a poor herding family near the Chinese border.
Reting 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; he and his family are brought to Lhasa, where he will be installed as Dalai Lama when he comes of age.
During the journey, the child becomes homesick and frightened, but he is comforted by Reting, who tells him the story of the first Dalai Lama -- whom the lamas referred to as "Kundun". The story is touching, but it is also intended to show the interconnectedness of all incarnations of the Dalai Lama up to and including the child himself.
As the film progresses, the boy matures both in age and learning. Following 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.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Communists, recently victorious in their revolution, are proclaiming Tibet to be a "traditional" part of China and expressing their desire to "unify" it with the motherland. Eventually, despite Tibet's pleas to the United Nations and the United States for intervention, China invades Tibet.
The Chinese are initially helpful, but when the Tibetans resist communist reorganization and re-education of their society (the Tibetans are particularly repulsed by the Communists' ban on religion), the Chinese become oppressive.
Following a series of increasingly horrific atrocities suffered by his people (and several attempts on his life) the Dalai Lama resolves to meet with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing, feeling sure that Mao will make things right. However, during their face-to-face meeting on the final day of the Dalai Lama's visit, Mao makes clear his view that "religion is poison" and that the Tibetans are "poisoned and inferior."
Upon his return to Tibet, the Dalai Lama learns of even more awful horrors perpetrated against his people, who have by now repudiated their treaty with China and begun guerrilla action against the Chinese. Finally, after the Chinese make clear their intention to kill him, the Dalai Lama is convinced by his family and his Lord Chamberlain to flee to India.
After consulting the oracle about the proper escape route, the Dalai Lama and his staff 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. Finally, the party 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 film's final line: "I think that I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and I am trying to be a good man, you see yourself." Template:Endspoiler
Awards
Kundun was nominated for four Academy Awards: for Art Direction, Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Costume Design and Original Score (Philip Glass)