Kundun 

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Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Tsewang Migyur Khangsar, Sonam Phuntsok, Robert Lin (II), Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong

Scorcese obviously loved this project; it has the detailed intensity of a man obssessed. Caring, loving detail is poured into each shot of this "bio-epic" of the Dalai Lama, visual metaphors arranged carefully like the colored sand sculptures of the Tibetan monks, then wiped away just as willy-nilly. It really is a gorgeous movie, but remember it isn't like a tone poem or have elements of a tone poem: it is a tone poem. Eschewing dramatic tension for a sort of holistic hum, it is a perfectly transcendent view of the Buddhist philosophy, but may not be exciting enough for most of us. Don't go when you're tired, and you'll be fine.

With Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Sonam Phuntsok, Tencho Gyalpo, Tsewang Migyur Khangsar. Written by Melissa Mathison.

—Ian Williams

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