Gyurme Tethong, Kunga Tenzin, Philip Glass

Martin Scorsese's magical mystery mandala on the life of the Dalai Lama is a visually exhilarating, spiritually ambitious film that goes where Scorsese has never gone before.

Flixster Users

79% liked it

8,152 ratings

Critics

75% liked it

52 critics

PG-13, 2 hrs. 8 min.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Release Date: December 25, 1997

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DVD Release Date: October 13, 1998

Stats: 618 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (618)


  • September 26, 2008
    The story of how the 14th Dalai Lama was found, educated and run out of Tibet by the Chinese. Interesting but slow moving movie.
  • July 24, 2008
    A film I have been wanting to see for quite some time, purely on a spiritual level and because I have an attraction toward Tibet.

    I feel I have learned a few things from this film, but at the same time I found it a little boring - which was a little disappointing.

    The film,...( read more) directed by Scorsese, was made well and I'm sure resembled the facts as a true story, it just wasn't as insightful as I had hoped it would be.
  • June 26, 2008
    Scorsese's amazing film about the life of the 14th Dalai Lama is something to behold.

    Schoonmaker's editing and Deakins's cinematography bring exquisite beauty to this stunning pieces of cinema
  • April 3, 2008
    Want proof that there are times that even Martin Scorsese is highly underrated? Watch his beautiful take on the life of the Dalai Lama then.
    I'll admit it's not Scorsese's best film (Ranging Bull will always be my favourite.) This near perfect film proves that Marty can do just ...( read more)about anything he wants and it will still be great.
  • December 5, 2007
    beautiful lookin movie but i didnt like it, I though Seven years in Tibet was much better
  • November 13, 2009
    The film is ambitious, but not as spiritually redeeming as it should have been. The nature of a human being such as Dalai Lama is not represented in the most faithful way possible. It is the least Scorsese film, but it has a strong Eastern influence that did not live up to the gr...( read more)acious quality such a plot instantly demanded. A nice and somewhat thought-provoking experience, nonetheless. I have personally come to the conclusion that it is a very underrated film because it failed to satisfy the expectations of two type of audiences: the crime-Scorsese fans and followers of Eastern cinema. I am in between.

    73/100
  • November 5, 2009
    This is a movie that touched my heart!!!
  • October 31, 2009
    i need to see thisagain,iremember not enjoying it much, but it isa scorsese, and irespect himenough to give it another go,
  • October 21, 2009
    Very insightful but boring.
  • October 18, 2009
    Kundun is an oscar nominated movie that offers a clear and non-sentimental look at one of the oppressed cultures of the world. It begins with the search for the 14th Dalai Lama which would become the spiritual leader of Tibet. They know they have founded their new 14th Dalai Lama...( read more) when a young boy is able to identify the objects that belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama. This boy named Kundun is the re-incarnated Buddha of Compassion. After he is found he?s taken to a monastery in Lhasa and is taught in the ways of the Buddhist religion.
    As he grows older, Communist China invades Tibet and eventually forces the Dalai Lama to flee to India. The movie really picks up when the Chinese invade, but ends rather abruptly when the Dalai Lama reaches India. But this is where his real quest, to win the liberation of Tibet, really begins.
    Kundun relates to world religions by showing the Tibetan?s beliefs about the Dalai Lama and they seem to be a kind, honest, open, and non-violent people. The Tibetan?s devotion to their Buddhist religion showed through their every thought and action I have obtained from the chapter on Buddism has opened my eyes to the different beliefs and their reactions to stressful situations.
    This isn't a movie for everyone, but it is one that basically sticks to the facts and doesn't resort to emotional appeal. Even the scenes where we see glimpses of the Chinese putting a gun into the hands of children and making them kill their own parents is handled abruptly and briefly.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I admire Kundun for being so unreservedly committed to its vision, for being willing to cut loose from audience expectations and follow its heart. full review

View more Kundun reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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