Bhutan, a mysterious country, is comfortable, tranquil, and uncontested.
Recently, I dug up an unpopular high-scoring movie about this country on Douban, the protagonist is a monk and a gun, which is very interesting, and was nominated for this year's Oscar for Best International Film immediately after its release, it is-
The Monk and the Gun
The Monk and the Gun
Director and screenwriter Mivu Dorje, a Bhutanese director, is an unfamiliar name for many people, but his origins are not small, his father is a Bhutanese diplomat, and his father-in-law is Lai Shengchuan.
His last well-known film was "A Yak in the Classroom", which was beautiful and poetic.
As a director, photographer, and traveler, he has traveled to many parts of the world, broadened his horizons, and made films from a different angle.
His multiple identities have given him a deeper understanding of the future of Bhutan as a nation.
The theme of the new film is similar to that of the previous one, which is all about "happiness".
There are two themes and three lines, the election line, the gun search line, and the gun buying line, which are intertwined with each other and finally collide together.
The story is set in 2006, when the internet and television had just entered Bhutan, and the 51-year-old king announced a new policy before abdicating, and the people were free to elect a new leader.
But the people there had never been exposed to democracy, and for a while, people were panicked and at a loss.
In order to make the people adapt to the rules of the election as soon as possible, the head of each political party simulates the election every day, asking the people to vote by looking at the color, but the people do not like this model at all.
When he knew that he could vote freely, he immediately stated that he would not support the candidate in his village, a slave owner who had enslaved them for many years.
But over the years, the villagers have long been accustomed to the life of enslavement, and they don't feel anything wrong, and Qunpei's blatant resistance has made him and his wife and mother-in-law incompatible.
When her daughter is ostracized at school, her classmates accuse her of having a father who is a traitor, and the family suddenly falls into tension.
The daughter angrily painted the poster of the voter as a pirate, because in her daughter's heart, this "pirate" stole the happiness of her family.
The wife blamed her husband for being too deep in the election, but Qunpei thought long-term, he wanted to climb to power through the election, and then send his daughter to the city to study, he didn't want his daughter to live in the countryside for the rest of her life.
But the Bhutanese people, who have always been simple, don't value these at all, just like Qunpei's wife, she feels that her family is very happy, she doesn't need these things, and she doesn't have to fight for them, even if she has no education or education, coarse tea and light rice are also very good.
At the same time, in order to get the votes of the people, political parties have also begun to use various tricks to win over, such as distributing free pork or daily necessities.
The delegates taught the people how to vote, how to build momentum, and how to pretend to kill each other.
Seeing this scene, the older generation felt unacceptable, such behavior was rude and rude, and it was incompatible with the peaceful living atmosphere here.
At this time, a respected local lama was also worried that the election would get out of control, so he ordered his disciples to find two guns to come back to defend themselves.
The disciple was at a loss, where to find this.
At the same time, a gun collector named Ron came to Bhutan, and he heard that a monk had an old gun in his house, which was the model he had been looking for for a long time.
The monk said that the gun had been passed down for generations, and that it had been left behind during the American Civil War, and that Ron decided to pay a premium for the gun.
So he made an appointment with the monk that he would go and get the money now, and he would pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other later.
No one expected that as soon as Ron left, the lama's disciple came to the door, and he also came to ask for a gun.
Because the lama had helped the monk before, the monk was willing to give the lama a gun without taking a penny.
But you can't be a prostitute in vain, so the disciple gave the monk a bag of betel nuts in return, and the transaction was settled.
Seeing this, don't you think it's funny, the Americans spent their old noses trying to buy things, and the people of Bhutanese just gave them away so lightly, and they didn't want any of them.
Because in this relatively closed country, what they are looking for is not money at all, but faith.
It didn't take long for Ron to prepare a bag full of money, and when he came to the monk's house, he found that the gun had already been taken away by the lama's disciples, and Ron hurriedly chased him out.
Ron kept persuading the lama's disciples, begging him to give him the gun, but the disciples said that they would complete the tasks given by the master, and they were unmoved, and they refused to say anything.
Next, the drama between Ron and his disciples was very interesting.
In order to impress his disciples, Ron took out a large amount of dollars and told the other party, "These shiny green banknotes are the most purchasing power currency in the world, and many people run to sell their kidneys in order to get them!" ”
The disciple didn't react, "Why do I want so much money?" ”
Ron didn't give up and continued to lobby, "This gun is useless to you at all, it's rusty and not easy to use, I'll give you money, you can buy ten new guns that are a little better, in the United States, there are more guns than people!" ”
When the disciples heard this, they were all stunned, what, there are still places where there are more guns than people, wow, this must be a very special country.
Ron saw that his disciple was tempted, and quickly took out a list of guns from his bag and asked the disciple to pick and choose.
As a result, the disciple picked two AK-47s, which directly shocked Ron, worried about whether the other party was going to kill people with a gun.
But in fact, the disciple just watched the American movie "007" and saw that the male protagonist was using this kind of gun, and he also wanted to pretend to be handsome.
Due to the tight schedule, Ron had to ask someone to buy two AK-47s from the black market, and when he was full of joy and ready to hand them over, he was dragged into the ritual of sacrificing the stupa by the Bhutanese people.
By mistake, he was mistaken for a missionary from afar, and he could only nod perfunctorily in approval.
In order to make the Bhutanese people have a good weather and avoid famine in the coming year, the lama led the people and threw the gun that his disciple had brought back into the foundation pit.
Because in their eyes, the gun represents industrialization and violence, and they must bury the sin and suppress the pain with the stupa.
Looking at this scene, Ron was already dumbfounded, and spent tens of thousands of dollars to come here to buy a stupa building ritual experience, which is simply ridiculous.
In order not to get himself in trouble, Ron had to follow everyone and threw the two AK-47s into the pit as well.
With everyone's cheers, everyone threw out the "murder weapons" such as toy guns, daggers, and sharp knives......
The funniest thing is that in return, the lama gave Ron a big phallus, one shot for another, which really made him laugh out of his stomach.
Cultural differences lead to differences in values.
It is ridiculous that the Bhutanese officials, when they persuaded the people to vote, said that the people of other countries are willing to kill each other for this right, and that your king has given you this gift, and you do not cherish it......
However, following the trend of civilization is not the same as fully integrating into democracy, a one-size-fits-all approach will only lead to frequent evil, and true happiness is to watch the food and eat.
Overall, this is a very Bhutanese film, although there is a didactic component, but the background music is seamless, the scenery is pleasant, and it is also worth watching as a tourism promotional film.