Film from Bhutan weaves magical tale from the top of the world
Dondup is a man with a terrible problem, or at least he thinks of it as a problem. He believes that happiness for him will be impossible unless he finds a way to live in America, a modern land of wealth and cool modern stuff.
Dondup and Sonam find a flirtation with love on a trip through the Himalayan country of Bhutan in 'Travellers and Magicians.'
Yes, we all know that America is the blessed land of "freedom" and "liberty" unknown in any other country in the world, but for Dondup it is all about the money and the cool stuff. In his homeland of Bhutan, he doesn’t seem particularly oppressed; in fact, in his vaguely defined job as a government official in a remote village he would be more oppressor than oppressed. Instead, his job leaves him with little to do but watch the villagers practice their archery all day.
When a letter from his brother arrives offering a chance to get an American visa, Dondup leaps at the chance — to paraphrase Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life” — to shake the dust of the crummy little village off his feet and see the world. All he has to do is get to the capital city within a few days.
Unfortunately, he misses the bus on the “highway” (a narrow one lane road with lots of turnouts) and he is forced to start walking with the hope of catching a ride with one of the infrequent cars that come along. Apparently, it is something of an unwritten law in Bhutan that if you have a car, you should be willing to share a ride.
Dondup, who views his countrymen with disdain, falls further into hell when he is forced to join a party of fellow travelers consisting of an apple seller, a Buddhist monk, and a papermaker and his 19-year old daughter. The rest of the group is traveling to the city to sell their wares and take part in a religious festival. The film then becomes a Bhutanese version of The Canterbury Tales, with the monk entertaining the group with a cautionary tale that relates to Dondup’s belief that a better life is something that can only be found somewhere else.
Written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, a Buddhist lama, the film offers beautiful scenery of Bhutan (it claims to be the first feature film to be shot in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan), two parallel love stories, and a gentle moral that is delivered without preachiness.
The monk’s tale is about a young apprentice magician who is bored with his studies and dreams of moving to a different valley where he believes he will find more girls. When a spell goes awry, he is transported via horseback to a remote wilderness cabin where he finds a very old woodcutter living with his young, beautiful wife. The young man and wife soon fall in love and plot to get rid of the husband.
In the real world, Dondup finds himself falling in love with Sonam, the daughter of the paper-maker. They, too, live in the village though Dondup has never met them because their home is rather isolated. But whereas the apprentice from the tale is building a love affair based on dreams, Dondup, if he chose, could find a very realistic love with Sonam.
Norbu, in his second feature film, demonstrates a sure hand pulling together all the elements of his story, which unfolds more levels of meaning as the film progresses. It is refreshing that Dondup, educated at the University, is impatiently aware that the monk is trying to instruct him, but is not immune to the obvious wisdom of the monk’s story and counsel. As the film progresses, he loses his arrogance and disdain, and it is clear that by the film’s conclusion he will be basing his decisions of whether or not to go to America on better grounds than a mere desire for money and modern things.
The film’s cast are all first-time actors and Norbu coaxes good performances from them. The film’s production notes say that the part of the apple seller was played by a man who makes his living selling apples, and that he had never even seen a movie. Tshewang Dendup, a reporter for the Bhutan Broadcasting Service, ably conveys Dondup’s transformation from arrogance and impatience to a sager, wiser man. At the end, if he still chooses to go to America it will be the result of him making a choice based on knowledge rather than a thoughtless pursuit of dreams.
Sonam Lhamo, as Sonam, the papermaker’s daughter, is quietly beautiful in that real-world way that is increased by her lack of pretense. It is impressive watching her knock the puffiness out of Dondup’s self-perception of superiority through her steadfast equanimity. This is accomplished basically in one brief beautifully written and acted scene as the two attempt to cook a cobbled together meal for the party while camping at the side of the road.
Lhakpa Dorji and Deki Yangzom play the story lovers, Tashi and Deki, with heartbreaking directness, building sympathy for their plight even as it is obvious that their plan to change their lot will only lead to a bad end.
And Sonam Kinga brings a nice playfulness to his role as the monk who instantly sizes up Dondu and chooses the perfect story with which to best instruct him. The Bhutanese scenery is beautiful, though my impression of the country, from watching the film, is that it is one long winding mountain pass, but occasionally the pass does open up onto some incredible vistas, just as any trip into your local mountains might occasionally offer the same experience.
Dondu may see moving to America as the answer to all his dreams, but “Travellers and Magicians” is a wise reminder that there is very likely worlds of magic left to be discovered wherever one is at any time, any place.