Travellers & Magicians (PG)

Director: Khyentse Norbu
Starring: Tshewang Dendup, Lhakpa Dorji, Sonam Lhamo
Bhutan, 2003, 1 hour 45 minutes, subtitles

From the director of The Cup (and the only reincarnated Buddhist lama currently working as a film director) comes the first film ever to be shot entirely in Bhutan. A gently told, humorous tale of a group of travellers who are on their way to the capital, Thimphu, and the adventures that befall them. While most are happy to wait for whatever vehicle might chance along, the restless Dondup is scornful of the simple village life and in a desperate hurry to get to Thimphu to catch a plane to the USA. To pass the time, a monk tells the tale of a peasant boy who steps across a dream barrier into an enchanted forest where he embarks on an affair with a shaman’s young wife. The monk’s mystical fable makes Dondup reflect that the grass is not always greener. An entirely non-professional cast brings real warmth and charm to this beautiful film that opens a window on the mountain Kingdom’s unhurried pace of life and spiritual values.

See this if you liked The Cup, Himalaya, Windhorse

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