Few American moviemakers are as puzzling as Martin Scorsese.
The revered American director usually makes movies that are so vibrant they're almost too intense for viewers. But when he tries to direct more "classy" films, such as "The Age of Innocence," they're restrained to the point of being almost boring.
Unfortunately, that's the case with "Kundun," his disappointing biographical feature on Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet.
The Dalai Lama's life and experiences are subjects that are definitely worthy of a film, especially with all the recent news stories on his country's political state. But the material deserved much better treatment than it receives in this shallow drama, which plays out more like a bunch of pretty-looking but empty snapshots than a feature film.
Scorsese and screenwriter Melissa Mathison pick up the Dalai Lama's life story in 1937, when the then 2-year-old was "discovered" by monks looking for a successor for their deceased leaders. They see something very old in this precocious youngster (Tenzin Yeshi Paichang), who is quickly whisked away for training.
The boy continues his spiritual training as he grows, but is actually more of a figure head that a leader — at least until he becomes a teenager. Around that same time, the Chinese communist army, led by Chairman Mao (Robert Lin), begins to take interest in his country.
At first those attentions are almost "peaceful." But Mao's suggestions become more and more physical as the Chinese communist army invades to "free" the people of Tibet as a precursor to the obvious plan of incorporating the small country back into China.
Scorsese definitely took a big risk by not casting professional actors in many of "Kundun's" major roles. Instead, many of them have familial or spiritual ties to the characters they portray (for example, the Dalai Lama's mother is played by Tencho Gyalpo, his niece).
They're definitely not the problem, though. Tenzin Thuthrong Tsarong, who plays the adult Dalai Lama, and Gyalpo are both very good. Instead, the troubles begin and end with Scorsese's deliberately slow pacing — obviously meant to be a "thoughtful" approach — as well as Mathison's screenplay, which just skims the surface of the real-life events and never comes close to giving us any insight into the characters.
"Kundun" is rated PG-13 for wartime violence and gore, some of it fairly graphic.