DramaHistory

Kundun

- The destiny of a people lies in the heart of a boy.

The Tibetans refer to the Dalai Lama as 'Kundun', which means 'The Presence'. He was forced to escape from his native home, Tibet, when communist China invaded and enforced an oppressive regime upon the peaceful nation. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living in exile in Dharamsala ever since.

Release Date : 1997-12-25

Language :EnglishTibetanMandarin

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Touchstone PicturesDune FilmsDe Fina-CappaStudioCanalAMLFCappa/De Fina ProductionsCappa Productions

Production Country : FranceMoroccoUnited States of AmericaUnited Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Dalai Lama (Adult)

Original Name : Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mother

Original Name : Tencho Gyalpo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Father

Original Name : Tsewang Migyur Khangsar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dalai Lama (Age 12)

Original Name : Gyurme Tethong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chairman Mao

Original Name : Robert Lin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dalai Lama (Age 5)

Original Name : Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dalai Lama (Aged 2)

Original Name : Tenzin Yeshi Paichang

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lobsang (5-10)

Original Name : Tenzin Topjar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Takster

Original Name : Tenzin Lodoe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lama of Sera

Original Name : Geshi Yeshi Gyatso

Gender : Male

Character Name : The messenger

Original Name : Losang Gyatso

Gender : Male

Character Name : Reting Rinpoche

Original Name : Sonam Phuntsok

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lord Chamberlain

Original Name : Gyatso Lukhang

Gender : Male

Character Name : Master of the Kitchen

Original Name : Lobsang Samten

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taktra Rimpoche

Original Name : Jigme Tsarong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ling Rimpoche

Original Name : Tenzin Trinley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kashag/Nobleman #1

Original Name : Namgay Dorjee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kashag/Nobleman #2

Original Name : Phintso Thonden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Layman #1

Original Name : Chewang Tsering Ngokhang

Gender : Male

Character Name : Norbu Thundrup

Original Name : Jamyang Tenzin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lobsang (Adult)

Original Name : Tashi Dhondup

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nechung Oracle

Original Name : Jampa Lungtok

Gender : Male

Character Name : Deformed Face Bodyguard

Original Name : Karma Wangchuk

Gender : Male

Character Name : Second Chinese General

Original Name : Kim Chan

Gender : Male

Character Name : General Tan

Original Name : Henry Yuk

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prime Minister Lobsang Tashi

Original Name : Ngawang Kaldan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prime Minister Lukhangwa

Original Name : Jurme Wangda

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tibetan Doctor

Original Name : Salden Kunga

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chinese Comrade

Original Name : John Wong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Woman

Original Name : Gawa Youngdung

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tenzin Chonegyl (Age 12)

Original Name : Tenzin Rampa

Gender : Male

Character Name : Indian Soldier

Original Name : Vyas Ananthakrishnan

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Stanley Ipkiss

Gender : Male

Character Name : (voice)

Original Name : Ken Leung

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chinese soldier (uncredited)

Original Name : Yoon C. Joyce

Gender : Male

Character Name : Monk (uncredited)

Original Name : R. Gern Trowbridge

Gender : Male

Character Name : General Chang Ching-Wu (uncredited)

Original Name : Ben Wang

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-09-06

If anyone were ever to question the undoubted skill of cinematographer Roger Deakins, then they need only watch this beautifully crafted story of the youth of the 14th Dalai Lama. Filmed in the Moroccan Atlas mountains, for obvious reasons, Martin Scorsese provides us with a lavish, colourful and thought-provoking postulation on just how this young man was selected, after a four year search, to become the venerated spiritual leader of a peaceful nation of farmers and monks, buried deep in the Himalaya mountains. The boy was but two, but already there was a fear amongst these folks for whom time has largely stood still, that their neighbour has designs on their homeland. As the boy ages into youth, those threats manifest themselves more practically and by the end, the man has little choice but to embark on a perilous journey to safety in India. The actors are perfect for their roles - the three iterations of the principal character morph seamlessly together as he must learn to tread a very thin line and attain the level of political acuity necessary to deal with the disarming, but ruthless, Chairman Mao (Robert Lin). Philip Glass scores well too - grand and intimate orchestrations complimenting well the beautifully coloured costumes and the rising political temperature. It does take it's time, but it is a subtly delivered hypothesis, this. It suggests more than it imposes on history and that makes for a more complete film to enjoy. Sure it has a message, quite a few as it happens, but they are there for us to develop ourselves - Scorsese doesn't tell us what to think. He invites us. Deakins was nominated for an Oscar for this, and to appreciate that fully then do try to see it on a big screen. In any case, it's well worth a watch offering plenty of food for thought.