Kundun

Kundun (1997)
Director: Martin Scorsese

Even though he is very hit or miss, I always try to keep an open mind while watching a Scorsese movie...but HOLY BORING MOVIES BATMAN!!!! I think I would have to qualify this as the most boring movie I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of movies.

This movie was sort of a biography of the 14th Dalai Lama and his dealings with the Chinese oppression of Tibet. At about 1h 40min this film begins to get marginally interesting, but by then it is just too late. If you can't interest your audience in the first hour and a half then your film has problems.

One of the problems with this film is that it showed a lot of traditions, ceremonies, rituals etc. In the beginning I thought, well this is fine they will explain it all later. They did not. Any time you are seeing something on screen that is confusing but will never be explained...skip it. Just don't bother. One of Scorsese strengths is that he focuses on detail. In this case though it turned against him. Sure, these are the ceremonies they perform in Tibet but you have to know when more detail is important and when it is just boring and superfluous.

There were some amazing shots in the film. I always liked Roger Deakins cinematography and he is one of the few things that make this film even tolerable. There is an absolutely brilliant shot revealing the Dalai Lama standing in the middle of a mass of dead bodies.

I did learn a little history. Before this movie I knew nothing about the Dalai Lama, Tibet, the Chinese oppression, etc. I know a little now, but not enough to make the movie worth watching. It is interesting to note that after this film was released Scorsese was banned from ever entering Tibet.

I really wish I hadn't watched this movie. I lost 2 hours of my life to boredom and I'll never get that back.

My Rating: 2 out of 5