Review of Kundun (1997) by Pascal V — 21 Nov 2010

I enjoy watching this movie. Since I am taking world religion class it make me appreciate the basically initiative roll that this movie is giving us. This movie is giving us some sort of perspective of how the Dalai Lama came into play and how Buddhism played a role in the monk daily life as they pray and chanting throughout the movie.

Kundun is a movie about a little boy that was believes to be the Tibet's 14th Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems. The monks test the boy by laying object out on a table, some belonging to the last Dali lama, and asking him to choose what is his, as he passes the test. Shortly thereafter the monks take Kundan to be trained to take his place as Dali lama. During his journey from boyhood to man they show Kundun learning the ways of Buddha. The movie shows a constant struggle for Kundun to be a leader, to free Tibet from china, and to do what is right for his people. Just before his eighteenth birthday is show a letter written just before his birth by the last lama and it predicts his transition to leader and his struggles that lie ahead. This is a very interesting movie. And also shows a perfect example that even today there are some places that cannot accept each other freedoms of religion.