Review of Kundun (1997) by Gary G — 18 Oct 2008

This was a very interesting movie. It was based on a true story of the life of the 14th Dali Lama. It started out with people searching for the reincarnation of the 13th Dali Lama. They found him by searching villages and testing children by having them pick out things that belonged to them in their past life. He succeeded. After turning 18, he is announced the 14th Dali Lama.

During his life, and in the past, China had tried to claim Tibet as it's own territory. As the movie progresses, China goes from knocking on the door of Tibet, to a full blown assassination attempt on the Dali Lama. All during the movie, the Dali Lama was faced with decision after decision about whether or not to go to war with China. Since he, and Buddhist in general, are peaceful, non violent beings, he decided not to declare war on China. Over the years, he had to endure the suffering of his people. The attacks on monasteries, the death of monks and nuns, and eventually the Dali Lama had to escape to India to avoid assassination.

The movie related to world religions by showing us how even in the eyes of war, the Tibetan Buddhist, the Dali Lama, did not give in to the need of war in order to save the lives of many of his countrymen. Instead, he chose the peaceful route. He stuck to the teachings of the Buddha.