Manager: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Distribution: Sherab Dorji, Pem Zam, Gurung Ugyen, Tshering Dorji
Year: 2023
Premiere: August 2, 2024
Punctuation: ★★★
The film marks Bhutan’s continued journey onto the global stage, following Pawo Choyning Dorji’s acclaimed Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom. Set in 2006, against the backdrop of Bhutan’s shift from monarchy to democracy, the story examines how a small, remote town copes with rapid change, from the arrival of television and the internet to the advent of mobile phones and formal electoral processes. Antennas sprout like new eyes on the hillside, sparkling with possibility while also hinting at the tensions that come with modernization. Greed, jealousy, and the scramble for advantage threaten the fragile balance that keeps community life intact. In this portrait, personal ambitions collide with the collective good, revealing how a simple vote can ripple through kinship, trust, and daily survival. The film earned attention for its thoughtful balance between social critique and intimate character moments, offering a window into a society negotiating the very idea of progress.
https://www.elperiodico.com/es/ocio-y-cultura/20240801/critica-pelicula-el-monje-y-el-rifle-butan-pawo-choyning-dorji-106407091
Dorji cleverly borrows Western archetypes to critique US interventionism and its fixation on firearms, using satire to question democracy’s impact in Bhutan. The approach favors a light, accessible tone over a fierce overture, allowing the viewer to follow both character dynamics and plot development without becoming overwhelmed by one or the other. The result is a nuanced, gently ironic meditation on power, influence, and the costs of modernization. For Western audiences who may wonder why a small nation would embrace universal suffrage, the film offers a thoughtful invitation to see how local traditions and modern politics shape daily life in a changing landscape. The work stands as a showcase of Bhutanese customs and natural beauty, inviting viewers to consider how traditional values coexist with a fast-paced global era, and why the vote matters not just as a right but as a social instrument that can either knit a community closer or pull it apart.