Even for the most proactiveMartin Scorsesecompletionists, there is always one blind spot in their mission to watch every single one of the iconic director’s films. Those who love all his work long to watchKundun, but unfortunately, it’s a film that’s been out of mainstream circulation for years. Scorsese’s 1997religious historical epichas always been nearly impossible to track down, perhaps purposefully so by its studio, since its initial release. On the surface,Kundunseems like an obscure curio in his rich filmography due to the outlier nature of its subject.Few could have predicted that Scorsese would be fascinated by the life of the 14th Dalai Lama in Tibet, but when you interpret it as a whole greater than the sum of its parts,Kundunfeatures variousScorsese hallmarks of faith and redemption.
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Kundun’ Follows the Rise of the 14th Dalai Lama
Scorsese’s literal spiritual trilogy of faith-related movies, starting withThe Last Temptation of Christin 1988 and concluding withSilencein 2016, explicitly grapples with thedirector’s own conflicted theology. Every Scorsese picture, from his crime epics to his commercially-minded genre riffs likeThe Color of MoneyandCape Fear, is infused with protagonists adopting a strict credo, even if it’s detrimental to their well-being.His faith trilogy shows Scorsese at his most austere, but as demonstrated with the street-level portrait of Jesus' last days inLast Temptation, his eye for intimate character studies never sways.Kundunchronicles Tibet from 1937 to 1959 under the imperialist control of China from the eyes ofTenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong), the region’s exiled political and spiritual leader from youth to adulthood. The film tracks the Dalai Lama’s rise and his plight withfreedom, guilt, and oppression.
Even with a physical media release by Kino Lorber in 2019,Kundunremains a difficult film to watch legally. Released by Disney under their now-defunct Touchstone label, Scorsese’s film was mired incontroversy by the Chinese governmentfor its depiction of the oppressive treatment of Tibetan people. Warned by the government that the film’s release would compromise Disney’s chances at building a theme park in the nation, CEOMichael Eisner, withconsultation fromHenry Kissinger,made sureKundunwould be released without causing a stir. As a result, the film played on amere four screens on Christmas dayand proceeded to dump it. It’s no coincidence thatKundunremains unavailable on any digital services. At the very least,Kundunlingers in culture as the basis for one of the funniest moments onThe Sopranos, when the wiseguy film buff Christopher (Michael Imperioli) yells to a fictional Scorsese, “Kundun, I liked it!”
‘Kundun’ Reflects Martin Scorsese’s Conflicted Faith With Grand Beauty
A director known for his unflinching violence and reprehensible human behavior, Martin Scorsese is aninnately humanist director.Whether it’s a low-level mobster, prizefighter, or religious messiah, he digs into the complex souls of people driven by diametric lusts and temptations.Kundun, written byMelissa MathisonofE.T.fame, is perhaps Scorsese’s most humane film, as the casting of non-professional actors lends itself to deeply grounded dissections of primal emotional tendencies.The elliptical, episodic structure of the film allows it to avoid the pratfalls ofbiographical epics about extraordinary figures.Kundunis not trying to cram a Wikipedia synopsis of Tibetan history, but rather, capturing the essence of the Dalai Lama’s teachings and vision. Scorsese’s tight grasp of mood and grand circumstances wraps up the viewer, even if the details of the political background are vague.
While, thematically,Kundunis a thesis on Scorsese’s reflection on faith as an inadvertentsource of human suffering, it is a slight left turn from a formalist sense. The director’s lone collaboration with acclaimed cinematographerRoger Deakinsamounted to a work of visual poetry. Composing the film’s music isPhilip Glass, who complements Deakins' painterly beauty with an awe-inspiring, euphoric drone score.The contributions of these two emotionally rapturous artists convey a genuine fondness for the Tibetan land and culture. As a film about a seemingly academic subject unappealing to a wide audience, Scorsese knows that it needs a pictorial elegance to comprehend the influential leader’s grave power and responsibility.
Rather than an experimental outlier in his vast filmography,Kundunrightly deserves its place as one of Martin Scorsese’s foundational movies. In the mold of a familiar historical epic,the director imbued his apprehensions about faith into the psychological complexity of a spiritual leader groomed into a world where his faith led tomass suffering and personal defeat.By showing a community demanding philosophical guidance from a young boy, Scorsese’s skepticism of faith is undeniable. However, humans have a disposition for all kinds of spirituality, andKundundemonstrates that we all need a dogma to cling to in dark times.
