The Monk and the Gun

Released 2023. Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji

NESTLED IN THE HIMALAYAS, THE KINGDOM OF BHUTAN has consistently been called the world’s happiest country. Instead of measuring Gross Domestic Product as a metric of a country’s success, Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness and prioritises its citizens’ happiness as a goal in national development. Tradition is deeply entrenched in this secluded country few of us have visited, but change is inevitable as modern technology catches up.

In the early 2000s, along with the arrival of the Internet was the introduction of democracy as the king planned to abdicate and the country underwent a peaceful transition from a monarchy to a democracy. The Monk and the Gun, from Oscar-nominated Bhutanese director Pawo Choyning Dorji, is set at this historic time of seismic shift. The film tackles themes of change versus resistance, tradition versus modernity and depicts concerns among people baffled by the concept of the freedom to choose their government. It is a light-hearted, lively, wry and open-minded drama with satirical elements.

To educate the Bhutanese on this novel concept of democracy, officials set up mock elections in villages where people cast votes for fictitious candidates. The general population is simply not interested and voter registration is dismally low.

Meanwhile at a remote monastery, the chief monk solemnly dispatches his acolyte to find a gun (or two if he can). An American man arrives in the country to locate an antique rifle used in the US Civil War that has somehow found its way to Bhutan. In a local family of small means, disagreements begin to simmer among husband, wife and in-laws over which candidate to support.

Through a few turn of events, the American finds his rifle and prepares a bag of cash in exchange. The monk finds a gun and brings it back to the monastery. Then some AK-47s are illegally purchased on the black market and added to the mix. As villagers gather to participate at the mock election, these disparately connected story strands converge. Oh, and the police from the city have also arrived, and of course they carry guns.

The presence of firearms is a contrast to the serenity in everyday Bhutanese life. Weapons serve no purpose in a place like this except as metaphors. Children crowd in front of a communal TV set, excited for a glimpse of the outside world. Adults go about their days doing what they do to look after their families. Nobody ever raises their voice above normal conversation level even when they’re upset. Even the cops are quite polite while they barge into a home to question the wife of a man they suspect of engaging in illegal activities. The gentle populace is evidently content under the rule of the monarchy. Young or old, they’re loyal to their king and they can't imagine how life will improve when he’s no longer in charge.

What gets you thinking is not about people exercising their right to choose, but what awaits on the other side once the door is opened. The Monk and the Gun does not make an overt political statement, only hinting at the risks of disrupting a contented and peaceful way of living, or implying that division and tension might become unavoidable. The film takes a concept and system that those of us living in established democracies take for granted and shows us that the happiest country in the world is about to change forever.

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