Kundun is a biographical drama directed by Martin Scorcese that goes in-depth into the life of his holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. The movie depicts the life of Tenzin Gyatso from the beginning where he was discovered to be the reincarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama. After the death of the fourteenth’s predecessor, the monks set fourth to these coordinates given by the thirteenth Dalai Lama before his death.
The monks carried certain items with one of them being the favorite of the thirteenth Dalai Lama. It was to test to see if the child was indeed the reincarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama. From passing the test, the story progresses to where Tenzin is being tutored and groomed to take his rightful position as the fourteenth Dalai Lama. At the same time, his family lives a life of luxury as compensation for never seeing their child again once he becomes the Dalai Lama.
I do not want to give out any spoilers, but Kundun does a good job of accurately depicting the fourteenth Dalai Lama’s life as a child to a religious leader of the Buddhist faith and also leader of the Tibetan people. The movie also explains how the state of Tibet and the faith of Buddhism are intertwined with each other.
Notable points in the movie is meeting Mao Zedong the leader of Communist China who deems that all religion to be a "poison" to society to the Dalai Lama living in exile in India. What also interested me that most of the characters were portrayed by actual Buddhist monks.
Kundun is by far the most accurate biodrama that I have ever watched so far. It’s a pretty old movie but do not let that deter you from renting a copy and viewing it. For people with a keen interest in the Buddhist faith, it’s a movie worth watching. Everything it detailed to the history of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, his adversity, his trials, and the current conflicts today.
Scorcese has done a good job portraying the rich history and mysticism associated with Tibetan Buddhism and the fourteenth Dalai Lama. Kundun takes a very good look at the traditions of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism and the portrayal of the fourteenth Dalai Lama’s life to the present day.
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