“The Monk and the Gun” about Bhutan’s path to modernity
Published: Thursday, Apr 11th 2024, 11:51
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The small kingdom of Bhutan in the eastern Himalayas is making a name for itself in Swiss cinemas. "The Monk and the Gun" is the second film by director Pawo Choyning Dorji from Bhutan - a political satire, warm-hearted and with surprising twists.
It was only a few weeks ago that the audience at the Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) was thrilled by "The Monk and the Gun". The film won the Audience Award in Fribourg at the end of March. It is now being released in cinemas in German-speaking Switzerland (18.04.)
The background to the story told by director Pawo Choyning Dorji is the arrival of modernity in the small Buddhist kingdom, which has a population of less than one million. After the king had elections held for the first time, the country has been a constitutional monarchy since 2007. What's more, the people have only just discovered television, the internet, James Bond and Coca Cola.
Dorji places three people at the center of his story: an election official who is supposed to conduct test elections in the mountains, a young monk who is supposed to find two firearms for a mysterious ceremony of his master and an American gun collector who is looking for an old rifle.
The movie finds its very own answer to the question of what a monk with a weapon wants. It can be revealed that this answer is pacifist. Director Dorji shows his homeland at a moment when political changes collide with traditional Buddhist values. He is not judgmental, his gaze is respectful. He creates comedy with side-swipes at capitalism. The audience at the FIFF screening laughed a lot.
The Bhutanese director has already celebrated success with his first feature film "Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom" (2019). The story about a teacher in the mountains of Bhutan was the first Bhutanese film to be nominated for an Oscar in 2022.
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