Problem is, Kundun also lacks Goodfellas energy and swift pacing. It's a beautiful movie -- scenery is stunning; colors are vibrant; shapes, shadows, and motions are entrancing -- but it's sort of like looking at a painting. Maybe I'm just maxed out on Tibet, after Seven Years and a History Channel documentary, but the story -- about the current Dalai Lama from his discovery by the monks searching for a successor to the 13th DL to his flight from Tibet as the Chinese invaded -- drags. It's all very static and lifeless -- which is unfortunate, because there's a deeply emotional story to be told. But somehow, even Scorsese can't figure out a way to make the audience feel the emotion.
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