Travellers And Magicians

Synopsis: In a rural mountainous village in Bhutan, government official Dondup (Tschewang Dendup) is desperate to leave and emigrate to America, the land of his dreams. After missing the bus for a critical connection, he is forced to walk. Along the way he meets several other travellers, an apple seller, a Buddhist monk (Sonam Kinga), and a father with his daughter Sonam (Sonam Lhamo). To entertain the group, the monk tells a story of Tashi (Lhakpa Dorji), a sorcery student who is spirited off in a dream to a remote place where he falls for Deki (Deki Yangzom), the beautiful young wife of an old man Agay (Gomchen Penjore).

Director Khyentse Norbu as well as being a fine filmmaker is also a high ranking lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition (he acted as advisor to Bernardo Bertolucci on Little Buddha) and his new film is suffused with its view of life. It is also the first film to be shot in the mountainous kingdom of Bhutan, and to be made in Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan, only formally adopted 20 years ago. But beyond all that, Travellers and Magicians is a thoroughly entertaining film, with plenty of humour, passion and a visually breathtaking landscape that is shot in such an intense way as to make you want to instantly buy trekking boots and a plane ticket!

Norbu is certainly a fan of the close-up portrait, and the opening shots are quite striking as we see the faces of villagers engaged in a high-spirited archery match. He continues this feeling through much of the film, making great use of extreme close-ups set in sharp relief to soft focus backgrounds. His attention to detail is evident in the way he presents the restless Dondup – his Doc Marten boots, non-conformist hairdo, rock music, jarring American posters and endless smoking, sadly, a representative of the modernisation of Bhutan (and countless other third-world countries) with its misguided attention on the ephemeral values of the West. In contrast the depiction of local rituals, one of the most amusing involving a giant wooden phallus, draws our attention to the value of the very things from which Dondup is so eager to free himself.

The rendering of the monk’s tale which intersects Dondup’s journey is suffused with beauty, reflected in the simple tradition of weaving that Deki endlessly undertakes, and the misty remote area in which she and Agay dwell. But there is a dark subtext to it all – the destructive power of lust, jealousy and deception. As the monk warns: “Beware of dreamlands – they may not be pleasant when you wake.” Whether Dondup will heed this warning remains to be seen. Travellers and Magicians leaves us to ponder the wisdom of pursuing imaginary goals when less elusive, more fulfilling ones are in fact under our nose

 

 

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