There are some moving, visually stunning moments in Martin Scorsese's biography of the 14th Dalai Lama, but the unfortunate thing about them is that they would be no less effective were they to appear in a trailer or a career-highlight clip reel. Kundun is a slow, meditative movie—an appropriate choice given the subject matter—that ultimately fails, in spite of clearly heartfelt good intentions, because of its almost inhuman detachment. Four unknown actors portray the Dalai Lama at various ages, and all are good, especially Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, who plays him as a young man. It never seems their fault that Kundun doesn't concern itself with turning the subject of its biography into a fully fleshed-out character, or that it's content to keep its story firmly in the background. Kundun's opening moments, in which the Dalai Lama is discovered amidst inauspicious surroundings at the age of two, are endowed with a sense of mystery as larger forces sweep up an unsuspecting child. It's clear that something grand and important is taking place, but precisely what isn't clear. It's a magical moment, but when it becomes apparent that the remainder of the movie will play in the same manner, the magic disappears. Scorsese, maybe the most narrative-oriented major director working today, has curiously decided to make an aimless film, and the choice doesn't suit him. Simply by virtue of being a Scorsese telling of the Dalai Lama story, it's about 10 times more interesting than any other attempt at the same—and Kundun's moments of beauty are not rare—but it's never beautiful consistently, never beautiful in a way that would make it a great film.