Kundun Page #3

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE DAY

Lhamo sits in the saddle in front of his Mother. His Father

and Sister ride beside them, through an incredible, empty,

Tibetan landscape. A Monk rides lead.

EXT. EST. SHOT / KUMBUM MONASTERY DAY

Turquoise-roof, golden-pagoda, a beautiful, white-washed

monastery built against a terraced, green hillside of Amdo.

INT. PRIVATE ROOM, MONASTERY DAY

Mother pats her son Lhamo's unruly hair and makes a soft,

comforting sound. Lobsang is there beside his brother.

Lobsang is already dressed as a tiny monk - in a maroon

robe, with short, clipped hair An older brother, TAKSTER,

age 17, a lama, is there.

The Mother lies:

MOTHER:

I will be back in a few days.

LHAMO:

How many?

MOTHER:

Two.

Lhamo holds up two fingers.

LHAMO:

This many?

MOTHER:

Yes, yes. Your brothers

are here.

Takster moves closer. She places the sad youngster in

Takster's arms.

MOTHER:

One more kiss.

Lhamo kisses her, as does Lobsang and even Takster falls

into her arms for a moment. Then, she turns and goes,

quickly.

A Monk appears. He produces a concertina and begins to play

for the little boy.

But, Lhamo begins to cry, through the music, through the

hugs of his brothers. As a result of Lhamo's tears, Lobsang

begins to cry. Takster holds them both. The music

continues. The older, wiser, Takster begins to cry, too.

The three brothers hold one another. Three brothers, three

monks, crying for their mother. The music continues,

echoing in this stone monastery.

The young "Kundun" is gently rocked by his older brother.

He begins to fall asleep.

DREAM SEQUENCE:

The sound of the concertina becomes chanting and we see row

after row of monks, in a temple, their voices mingling in

the empty room.

View of a courtyard, with young novices, reciting. Lobsang

is among them.

BOYS'S VOICES (VO)

"May I be the doctor and

the medicine,

And may I be the nurse,

For all sick beings in the world,

until everyone is healed."

A TEACHER, a very stern-looking monk, carrying a thick, flat

board, menacingly, behind his back, walks among the

students.

A golden head of a Buddha - a huge head - appears to be

bursting through an archway at the end of a dark hallway.

The Chinese Governor stands, like a giant, against the blue

sky. Omnipotent. Frightening.

CHINESE GOVERNOR

I want him accompanied by my

Chinese soldiers.

Keustang Rinpoche, also a head against blue sky, argues:

KEUSTANG RINPOCHE

This is Tibet. We are not

under your authority.

CLOSE on the Chinese Governor.

CHINESE GOVERNOR

I want one hundred thousand

Chinese dollars, if you want the

boy.

CLOSE on Keustang Rinpoche. Slowly, he nods.

An image of the Father and the Mother, standing in their

courtyard, staring at the departing search party.

The Mother asks over and over:

MOTHER:

But why? Who is Lhamo?

Who do they say he is?

Her husband does not know.

View of the Mother, on the roof, feeding cedar and yak chips

into the incense burner. We hear:

BOYS (reciting)

"May I be protector for those

without one."

DRAAM SEQUENCE ENDS

Lhamo wakes up. He is in a brilliant, green room.

INT. STUDY ROOM, KUMBUM MONASTERY DAY

The stern-looking Teacher from his dream is there, reading

scripture, reciting:

TEACHER:

"May I be a bridge, a boat, a ship

For all who wish to cross the water."

Lhamo looks down at the complicated words.

TEACHER:

Can you recite?

The boy just waits, sad, lonely.

The Teacher offers Lhamo an apricot. Lhamo takes the fruit.

The Monk pats the boy's head, gently, and Lhamo takes

shelter in the kind man's massive robes. The view becomes

sunlight through deep, maroon wool.

INT. DRELJAM DAY

thamo and Lobsang sit inside a �dreljam" - a rough

palanquin, which is attached to two poles and carried

between two mules. The vehicle rises and falls, pitches and

twists as it is carried along the roadless, Tibetan plains.

Lhamo reaches forward and pulls back a curtain.

EXT. TIBETAN PLATEAU DAY

The boy is traveling with a caravan. It is not, in fact, an

enormous caravan, maybe fifty people, including: Lhamo's

family, members of the search party, monks, Muslim traders.

The dreljam DRIVER looks over at Lhamo and signals that the

boy should close the curtain.

Lhamo does so, only to lean across his brother to look out

the other side of his tiny carriage.

The other side opens to a view of the great, empty land. A

herd of deer grazes beside the travelers. Mountains rise in

the distance. A flock of geese flies overhead.

Lhamo closes the curtain.

INT. DRELJAM DAY

Lhamo elbows his brother. Lobsang elbows him back. The two

begin to squabble.

LHAMO:

You have all the room.

LOBSANG:

Don't be a baby, move over.

LHAMO:

You move.

LOBSANG:

You! You think you are so

big!

They hit and pinch until finally the movement of the

carriage stops. The Driver reaches in through the open

curtains and separates the boys, each to his own side of the

dreljam.

Inside his tiny carriage, young Lhamo now sits quiet and

composed.

EXT. CAMPSITE NIGHT

A cluster of fantastic, Tibetan tents are set up; white

cotton tents, with sharp corners, peaked ceilings and

elaborate, appliqued designs. Campfires glow, animals bed

down, stars shine overhead.

INT. TIBETAN TENT NIGHT

CLOSE on a group of ancient, stern-faced MONKS.

CLOSE on the baby-faced, Lhamo Dhondrup.

One Monk pulls a huge pair of scissors from his robes.

Lhamo makes a dive for the tent's door.

EXT. TENT NIGHT

Standing outside the tent is a BODYGUARD - a huge, burly

man, wearing monk's robes. He turns to the boy. In one

hand he holds a big stick. His face is distorted and

deformed by a large tumor under one eye. It is a

frightening sight. He looks like a monster to the child.

Lhamo jumps back inside the tent. The Bodyguard closes the

appliqued flap.

INT. DRELJAM DAY

Lhamo has had a haircut. His Mother walks beside the

carriage, holding his hand.

LHAMO:

Who am I?

MOTHER:

We do not know.

EXT. PLAINS OF TIBET NIGHT

By candlelight, Lhamo is transferred from the rugged, simple

carriage, to one of exquisite, yellow silk.

INT. PALANQUIN JUST BEFORE DAWN

Lhamo peeks out of the silk curtain as he hears the arrival

of many horses, many men. SOLDIERS - hundreds of Tibetan

soldiers - surround the palanquin.

EXT. PLAINS, OUTSIDE LHASA DAWN

The yellow palanquin is carried across a human border of

Tibetan noblemen. These fantastic-looking men and women

part, and drop to the ground in prostration, as the

palanquin moves through their welcoming committee.

INT. PEACOCK TENT DAWN

Lhamo walks along a long, patterned carpet, looking up, at

this lofty tent's stunning, blue silk, ceiling.

He is led to a tall, wooden throne, and he is lifted, and

then he climbs to the top. Lhamo settles in a cross-legged

position on the brocade cushion.

He looks down.

Hundred of monks, abbots, noblemen, Nepalese, Bhutanese,

Chinese, even a red-headed Englishman - they all bow to

Lhamo.

Reting Rinpoche, the young Regent of Tibet, the man who saw

this boy's face in his vision, stands below the throne. He

addresses the crowd:

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