Review of Kundun (1997) by Pablo E — 12 Oct 2013

This was a great film that took place in Tibet around 1937 where a young boy was born. His name was Tencho Gyalpo who later became the 14th Dalai Lama. Tencho Gyalpo was a boy who loved to hear stories of his birth. He was told that on the day he was born, he was guarded by two crows. This may seem like a coincidence because there had been two crows also said to have guarded the 13th Dalai Lama on the day of his death. At the age of two, Tencho Gyalpo was discovered by monks that were on a quest for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. They found this little man in Tibet. In the movie, the monks would place some objects that belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama along with other objects, in front of the child, and each time the young boy would pick up an object that belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama he would say, "Mine, mine." Because Tencho Gyalpo could do what some would call miracles, he was thought to be the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. Kundun means "prince" which was what he later was called. Two years later, the monk would return and take the boy to live in the monastery. Kundun would be taught the way of Buddhism. There are several scenes in the movie that remind me of rituals and sacred places I have read about like the meditation ritual.

As a teenager he is faced with the fact Chinese have invaded Tibet. The people are being killed and treated like animals. Kundun tries to make peace with some Chinese officers but it was in vain. Later in the movie he needed to flee or he would be killed. Because of the pressure, he chose to flee to India around 1959 and it is there he had dreams or visions of his people being killed under the Chinese rule.