The Monk and the Gun: A Refreshing Political Satire from Bhutan

By Liam Lacey

Rating: A-

A crowd-pleasing satire from a refreshingly remote corner of the world, The Monk and the Gun — from director Pawo Coying Dorji (Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom) — is set in the Himalayan nation of Bhutan in 2006, a couple of years before the king abdicated to make way for a democracy.

With a population of less than 800,000, Bhutan is sometimes called “the last Shangri-La” for its natural beauty, spiritual traditions, and isolation from the din of the modern world. Cars weren’t allowed until the 1960s and televisions, satellite TV, and the internet were not permitted until 1999. As the film begins, the population in one village are in a tizzy about a kind of modern revolution they didn’t ask for.

The king has announced his impending abdication, and the people must learn a new political system. To educate the population about the new system of government, the government is preparing a series of mock or practice elections.

At first glance, democracy looks distinctly unpleasant. There are garish television ads from competing political parties and widespread dissension. The voters are encouraged to cheer for — or jeer against — candidates representing red, blue, or yellow parties representing theoretically different agendas for the nation.

“Show some passion! You’re supposed to despise each other,” instructs one of the mock election organizers to a puzzled crowd.

Sure enough, neighbours and families are soon divided on political lines. Neighbours resent other neighbours. Kids are picked on at school. In-laws stop speaking to one another. At one mock political rally, an elderly woman asks, “Why are you teaching us to be so rude?”

Part of the problem is that democracy has arrived as part of a package of dubious Western influences. At the local café that sells “black water” (Coca-Cola), the villagers gather around a television set to gaze at a trailer for the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, wreaking havoc in his efforts to save the free world.

Then there is that worrisome gun of the title. Early in the film, we see a young monk named Tashi (Bhutanese pop singer Tandin Wangchuk) heading through the green fields to visit an elderly Lama (real-life Lama Kelsang Choejey). The older man has an enigmatic mission for him: Obtain two guns because he wants to “make things right” before the upcoming full moon ceremony.

Guns aren’t easy to come by, but Tashi connects with Benji (Tandin Sonam) who is trying to broker a deal with a villager who is in improbable possession of an American Civil War–era rifle. Benji has another potential client, a buffoonish Yankee gun collector named Ron Coleman (the name of the actor in Frank Capra’s 1937 film Lost Horizon about a mythical Himalayan nation where time stands still, played here by Harry Einhorn).

“Mr. Ron is an expert,” explains Benji. “In his country, there are more guns than people!”

After some haggling, Coleman is offered a deal. He can have the antique rifle only if he can come up with two AK-47 assault rifles, which may involve some arms trafficking. Throughout, Mr. Ron’s expert dignity is hard to maintain, especially when he finds himself riding on a cart of local pilgrims carrying big pink phalluses, an emblem of luck in Bhutan.

Dorji’s film, shot with a large cast of nonprofessional actors amidst abundant gorgeous landscapes, is a lighthearted affair that cocks a skeptical eyebrow at progress and political ideology without presuming to have answers.

The plot meanders, scores both subtle and broad digs at gullible locals and mercenary operators, and finally, cleverly resolves on the night of the full moon, with the culmination of the Lama’s plan to “set things right.”

Fans of action films as Top Gun, American Sniper or Hobo with a Shotgun may be disappointed by the absence of splatter, though The Monk and the Gun achieves is own kind of sardonic catharsis.

The Monk and the Gun. Directed and written by Pawo Choyning Dorji. Starring Tandin Wangchuk, Deki Lhamo, Pema Zangmo Sherpa, Tandin Sonam, Harry Einhorn and Kelsang Choejay. In select theatres February 23 in Toronto (TIFF Bell Lightbox), Ottawa (Bytowne) and Vancouver on March 15 (Vancity).