Movie · 1997 · Drama, History · 2h 14m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 5.3/10 (59.4K ratings)
The destiny of a people lies in the heart of a boy.
Overview
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.
A visually striking, spiritually attentive historical drama that trades conventional momentum for atmosphere, ritual, and moral gravity. It can feel distant at times, but the craftsmanship and perspective make it a distinctive Scorsese work, especially for viewers drawn to contemplative cinema and religious themes.
Best for
viewers interested in faith, exile, and political oppression
fans of meditative historical dramas
people who value strong visual design and score-driven filmmaking
Scorsese completists looking for a lesser-seen outlier
Skip if
you want a fast-moving, plot-heavy biopic
you prefer emotionally direct, highly dramatic performances
you are impatient with impressionistic, contemplative storytelling
you need a film with a strong conventional protagonist arc
Overview
Kundun is one of Scorsese’s most unusual films: less a conventional biopic than a lyrical portrait of spiritual formation under siege. It follows the Dalai Lama from childhood into exile, but the film’s real subject is endurance—how a life of faith remains intact when history turns brutal. The result is often more contemplative than dramatic, but never casual or indifferent.
Worth noting
The film’s greatest strengths are formal. Roger Deakins’ images, Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing, and Philip Glass’s score give it a stately, almost ceremonial pulse. Scorsese approaches the material with unusual restraint, letting color, movement, and repetition carry meaning. That can create emotional distance for some viewers, yet it also gives the film a rare sense of reverence without becoming inert.
Bottom line
If Silence is Scorsese’s later meditation on faith under pressure, Kundun is an earlier, more impressionistic companion piece. It is not the easiest entry point into his work, but it is a rewarding one for anyone interested in cinema as a spiritual and visual experience. It lingers less as a story than as an atmosphere of loss, dignity, and persistence.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Val (3.5★) · 2138 likes
Marty! "Kundun", I liked it!
Matt Singer (3.5★) · 803 likes
One of the last Martin Scorsese movies I had never seen — and certainly one of his least Scorsese-ish efforts, although it jives in interesting ways with some of his other films, most obviously Silence. I liked it, and I thought it was very bold to have it open with the line “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be the Dalai Lama.”
Will Sloan (4★) · 396 likes
I liked it!
I’m glad I saw this movie after seeing SILENCE, because I can more clearly see what attracted Scorsese to the Dalai Lama’s story. Scorsese is fascinated by religious faith that endures unstoppable opposition—faith that the faithful are willing to die for. Leave it to a Catholic like Scorsese to find the self-flagellating side of Buddhism.
Mike Thorn · 228 likes
A Schoonmaker powerhouse: her editing, alongside Scorsese's attentive direction, reminded me of Renoir's The River on multiple occasions. Renoir Sr., though, is where I find a more sustained point of reference—if Scorsese has ever made "impressionistic cinema," then this is it (especially within the early childhood sections). On a first viewing the portraiture is overwhelming, sometimes downright distancing, but the film's interest seems to lie more in capturing P.O.V. through bold strokes of imagery. This isn't to say the film… more A Schoonmaker powerhouse: her editing, alongside Scorsese's attentive direction, reminded me of Renoir's The River on multiple occasions. Renoir Sr., though, is where I find a more sustained point of reference—if Scorsese has ever made "impressionistic cinema," then this is it (especially within the early childhood sections). On a first viewing the portraiture is overwhelming, sometimes downright distancing, but the film's interest seems to lie more in capturing P.O.V. through bold strokes of imagery. This isn't to say the film… more
Sonny Bunch (4★) · 216 likes
It is a moral atrocity that Michael Eisner apologized to the Chinese for making and releasing this film.