Even at age 5, the young 14th Dalai Lama (center) is the spiritual leader of Tibet.

Written by Melissa Mathison, Kundun opens with the search for the reincarnate Buddha after the death of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1933. He is found in 1937 as a precocious 2-year-old boy named Tenzin Gyatso, living with his simple family in a small Tibetan village. Once the monks charged with identifying the new Dalai Lama have settled on Tenzin Gyatso, the boy and his entire family are relocated to the capital at Lhasa, and the child is systematically educated for his duties as spiritual and political leader of his people. The country is still ruled by a regency of elders, however, when, in the aftermath of the communist revolution of China, Mao Zedong reasserts China's ancient claim to Tibet. Hoping to rally the nation against the threat of a Chinese invasion, the regents invest the 15-year-old Dalai Lama with full power. But the invasion comes nonetheless, and Tibet proves largely powerless to resist. Wise beyond his years, the Dalai Lama has hoped to wait until at least age 18 before ascending to his throne, but he tries to lead his people even as a teenager. He is, unfortunately, condescended to by Mao all the while as the Tibetan population is brutalized by Chinese rule. Eventually, fearing for his life in the midst of an armed uprising, the Dalai Lama flees. This is where the film ends, but it is worth noting that the Dalai Lama's long non-violent struggle for human rights for his people won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and a legion of followers worldwide.

Admirable as the Dalai Lama is and lovingly made as this movie is, it's an overlong and ultimately frustrating piece of work. We remain confused throughout as Mathison's script evidently assumes knowledge on part of the viewer that the great majority of us lack. The picture has a nice warning against pride. And the series of young actors (Tenzin Yeshi Paichang, 2; Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin, age 5; Gyurme Tethong, age 12; and Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, 15 and on) acquit themselves very nicely, making the Dalai Lama seem a man who manages to be both charismatic and genuinely humble at the same time -- no easy accomplishment.