Kundun

"Marty! KUNDUN! I liked it!"

Easily Scorsese's worst that I've seen, detached and without any of his usual flourishes. Compared to Last Temptation, the godhead protagonist faces no tests of faith, or self-questioning about his circumstances beyond the shallowest attempt. At some point his mother just disappears from the film without any comment. Scorsese getting a lifetime ban from entering China due to Kundun doesn't seem worth it, when you realize most of its cultural legacy can be reduced to a bit in The Sopranos.

can someone explain what this movie is, and what on earth scorsese was trying to achieve with it? to make money obviously, but he could have picked something different. tibetian activism? maybe, but it's hilariously hamfisted, and the dali lama comes off as an idiot more than anything (which, to be honest, he probably is). the combination of eastern period setting, philip glass music and english dialogue is bizarre, if indeed grating, and the latter clearly undermines any intended authenticity.

An explicitly 'western' engagement with Eastern culture, Scorsese expends much effort to achieve a sense of cultural authenticity without bothering to incorporate national or local language. The decision seems incongruous and quite problematic in its own right, even if the reasons for leaving it out were purely financial. The Dali Lama plays like a caricature and the politics of the film are entirely superficial.

Like 1982's 'Gandhi,' it's an introduction to the history, not a thorough exploration. It's a visual poem full of gorgeous imagery and fascinating scenes about the Tibetan culture. The young monk's education and rise to leadership is compelling, yet it seems like an unfinished film as we see nothing of his adult life or his spiritual & political efforts to preserve the Tibetan identity. A few minutes of epilogue on his life since exile would give a feeling of closure to a beautifully made movie.

This version of Dune is only slightly better than David Lynch's.

Beautifully shot and scored but this is the weakest Scorsese film. The highly charged political nature of this film and its depiction of Chinese as ruthless caricatures does not serve it well. As Buddhists would say the truth is somewhere in the middle. The Tibetan independence issue is complex. This film has the same flaw as "The Last Emperor" in that it tried to frame very specific cultural issues in completely western terms. The English was distracting too but the least of the many flaws.

Surprisingly enveloping and enlightening, albeit heavy-handed in some of its symbolism and its depiction of Mao. Fascinating in its direction and narrative arc, since it could have drifted towards the banal as many others in its genre so often do. But Scorsese never lets it.

I looked long and hard for merit in this film. And this is the subject matter I am perhaps most interested in. I think Scorsese has cast a spell that only I am immune to.

Like a non-intrusive documentary, depicts Dalai Lama as a normal human and that's the biggest strength of the movie. It could've benefit from using Tibetan as the main language, English doesn't really fit in here.

Does an admirable job of creating a setting (particularly considering that most was filmed in Morocco), but then destroys that by having everybody speak English. The stilted dialogue and the terrible score (that I was surprised to see Phillip Glass sign responsible for) that only occasionally goes fake-Asian, but largely stays Western, also show that the set was just a bit of Orientalist veneer for what is very much a mainstream Hollywood production.

About as exciting as reading ancient scrolls

Scorsese's second religious epic after Last Temptation, and although his direction of the subject here treats it with almost as much class, it lacks the piercing emotion of his take on the Jesus story, instead opting for a calmer, almost documentary-like approach. Highly recommended as an educational story, but lacks a real cinematic punch.

Baggy and contrived but has a few poignant moments. Attempts to scratch beyond the surface but lacks any real vision or focus. The English language is just bizarre and the whole thing comes off as some kind of hammy drama section of a TV history documentary.

The plot barely matters, it takes 2 and a quarter hours to show the Dalai Lama get the fuck out of Nepal, forever. About 40% of the movie covers the time when the Dalai Lama didn't need to get out of Nepal but was a wee boy instead. So that's that. What is worth noting is the superb cinematography - lots of striking imagery both of the landscape and the interior, plus the last act knocks it out of the park, shot after shot. The score is intense and amazing too. See and hear it if not *watch* it.

73.67.

i like Kundun and especially the script.

73.000

76.000

75.125

Great art direction and cinematography paint the world of Tibet in gold. However, unlike many of Scorsese's other films, we're left unconnected to our protagonist. With Kundun, the entire time we feel as though we're watching a god on the screen who can do no wrong. We never see the man behind the title, and are only left with snippits of humanity.

Too serious and slow-moving. Some good visuals (nothing mind-blowing) and a good score, but nothing compelling. Really bad acting at times. I got bored and turned it off after an hour or so.

Pretty good - thoughtful.

There's nothing really wrong about this film except that there's nothing really exceptional either. Some beautiful scenes and nice directing.

You can't really say anything bad about this film but at the same time you can't really praise it for anything either.

Scorsese at his most hypnotic.

Poweful.

The reference to this movie in the first episode of THE SOPRANOS justifies its existence.

In all likelihood the last big-budget personal film we'll see for years to come. A compelling and beautiful look about what it means to be a man of religion in a world of crap

Gorgeous and magical, but lacking something I can't quite put my finger on.