Tribeca ’25: Kundun

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner abjectly apologized for this film, calling it “s stupid mistake.” On bended knee, he groveled to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): “The bad news is the film was made; the good news is nobody watched it.” Disney saw to that. The film in question was directed by Martin Scorsese, who dedicated it to his recently deceased mother, Catherine. It was also nominated for four Academy Awards, including Philip Glass’s justly celebrated score. However, you can’t stream Scorsese’s cinematic biography of the 14^th (and according to him, last) Dalai Lama. Again, Disney made the conscious decision to keep it out of circulation. Hence any screening of Scorsese’s Kundun is a big deal, so its special screening to celebrate Scorsese’s birthday at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival is a huge event.

Born Lhamo Thondup, the Dalai Lama was a rather willful child, but also an intelligent one. Reting, the Regent of Tibet quickly realizes the bright little boy should be tested to determine whether he is the reincarnated spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, which indeed turns out to be the case.

As the recognized Dalai Lama studies at Potala Palace, he shows a keen curiosity regarding the outside world. That will be just as well, because the outside world soon barges into Tibet. Unfortunately, after the devastation of WWII, England and Europe are too exhausted to intervene when China invades and annexes Tibet. Likewise, the newly independent India is too disorganized and America is too far. Consequently, the Dalai Lama and his ministers agree to negotiate with Mao.

However, many of the senior Lamas realize they are really only stalling for time, even though the Dalai Lama still hopes for a more equitable and autonomous arrangement. Sadly, as the CCP starts razing monasteries, the Dalai Lama recognizes the CCP as the oppressors they always intended to be. Nevertheless, he resists seeking sanctuary in India, because he refuses to abandon his people when they need him the most.

It is easy to see why Kundun (the Tibetans’ term of reverence and affection for the Dalai Lama, meaning “the Presence”) angered the CCP. First of all, it is an excellent film, unlike the junky rom-coms and stilted propaganda movies the Chinese film industry now cranks out. It also forthrightly depicts the brutality and destruction of the CCP occupation. Yet, it is small but telling moments, like when the Dalai Lama bemoans the blaring bombastic Chinese propaganda music, lamenting: “they even took our silence,” that are especially devastating.

Indeed, Scorsese and screenwriter Melissa Mathison follow the historical record, depicting the Dalai Lama as neither a rebel nor a hot-head. He was a remains a man of non-violence, who was forced into a painful exile, as a means of preserving the Tibetan national soul.

Despite the tragedy it captures, Kundun is a gorgeous film, magnificently lensed by acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins. He and Scorsese use the colors and imagery of the Tibetan sand mandala to arresting effect. Glass’s score is hypnotic, but it also expresses a sense of awe. Just in terms of technical artistry, Kundun is unusually accomplished.

Yet, ironically, Kundun never comes across as hagiography because the cast so convincingly humanizes His Holiness and his various Lamas and ministers. The Dalai Lama’s own great nephew, Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong plays His Holiness as a mature teen facing potential exile or subjugation with such grace and mournfulness, he must surely have drawn from personal experience. Conversely, Robert Lin unnervingly channels Mao’s serpentlike coldness and cunning.

Kundun should have steadily grown in stature each passing year since its initial release, but because Disney buried it, the film remains a hole in Scorsese’s filmography that many of his ardent admirers have yet to watch. This is a shame and a crime against cinema, because Kundun is superior masterwork. Very highly recommended, Kundun screens tomorrow (6/6) during this year’s Tribeca, with Scorsese in attendance—but it is not available for streaming, thanks to Disney.