A Bhutanese Filmmaker-Saint Uncovers Beauty in Banality
With his 1999 debut, The Cup, a comedic glimpse of soccer-crazed monastics, Bhutanese-Tibetan director (and high lama) Khyentse Norbu wisely made tenuous cultural exchange his central philosophical inquiry. His status as a reincarnated saint at home lent weight to his claims that film can be as sacred as a prayer flag. His Travellers and Magicians is the first feature film shot entirely in Bhutan, and likeThe Cup, uses exclusively non-professional actors.
In interviews, Norbu has compared the editing process to meditation. While his travelers wind over ridges backed by stabbing peaks, the monk among them unfurls a parallel tale that splits the movie in two. The story of Tashi's lusty downfall is the monk's caveat to curious Dondup—and Norbu's literal "grass may not be greener" wink to young Bhutanese.
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