The Monk And The Gun – Directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji

Nowadays when we hear the term innocence it is usually associated with a trial. For Bhutanese director Pawo Choyning Dorji innocence, a central quality of The Monk and the Gun as well as the Bhutanese culture, was challenged as The Kingdom of Bhutan opened up overnight to television, internet and democracy in 2007. The plot is set in motion when a lama (Kelsang Choejey) hearing of the upcoming elections, on a battered transistor radio, makes a mysterious request of his aid, a young monk Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk).  “I need guns.”, before the next full moon to correct Bhutan’s spiritual course. 

While Tashi scours the beautifully filmed Himalayan landscape for guns, a small convoy of outsiders arrive to instruct the villagers how to vote by dividing them into groups of color the yellows (preserve status quo), red (development) against the blue (freedom and equality).  Originally the reigning monarch of Bhutan’s paramount objective in introducing democracy was to increase the “Gross National Happiness” (instead of our GNP). The villagers are split up along color lines and are then told to yell at each other as a lesson in party loyalty.  An elderly woman observing this unaccustomed departure from civility remarks, “Why are you teaching us to be so rude?” 

 One of the movie’s small miracles is that the villagers in the movie here are making their acting debut. Most of them hail from Ura, which is considered the spiritual capital of Bhutan; where the aforementioned Kelsang Choejey is their lama. The only celebrity here is Tandin Wangchuk (Tashi) the lead singer for an alt rock band Misty Terrace based in Bhutan. Even the American intruder, Henry Einhorn ( Mr Ron) is a meditation instructor.

But in the movie, there are villagers who have a stake in these elections, foremost among them a father Choephel (Choeying Jatsho), who sees a pot of gold at the end of these elections by supporting a progressive candidate.  Unfortunately he  is not so quick to see the damage it does to his own family.  Especially his daughter who becomes an outcast among her friends and the sadness that it brings to his wife.  

As Tashi, the young monk, continues his search we see TVs as new precious objects that arrive in the village.  Tashi joins a group watching Quantum of Solace, a James Bond film featuring the ultimate weapon, an AK 47. Into this scenario we are introduced to Benji (Tandin Sonam) who is tasked by an American gun collector Mr. Ronald Coleman (Harry Einhorn ) to secure the town’s only gun, a priceless antique dating from the American Civil War which just happens to have also killed many Tibetans. Mr Ronald Coleman (sly reference to Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon) arrives in Bhutan and is told to tell people he is here to tour the temples as the bag of money and his thirst for this weapon could cause unwanted attention from the police.This gun is Benji’s road to riches but out of respect for the lama, the owner of the antique gun, refuses his bag of with $75,000 and gives it to Tashi as a tribute. When Benji arrives with his greedy benefactor Mr. Ron, to secure the gun and his fortune, they are dumbfounded that it was given away. Wonderfully comic, Mr. Ron staggers through an alien landscape like a fish out of water, where a bag of money can’t buy happiness and guns are only seen on TV.

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As the clock starts ticking down to the full moon deadline they then pull out all stops to chase down Tashi and secure the priceless antique. Finally catching up with Tashi, Benji impresses him with Mr Ron’s expertise with guns.  Telling him,”In his country there are more guns than people!”  They promise 2 AK 47s that Tashi picks from a catalog because he saw it in the James Bond film. Mr.Ron makes moves to secure the Ak 47s attracting the attention of the local police, who start to track the gun runners.

The looming mock election appears to be increasingly unpopular especially among the friends and family of Choephel whose path to fame and fortune appears to be waning. As the ceremony of the full moon arrives the police descend upon Benji and Mr Ron. Will the community be healed?

Dorji said his main purpose in this film was to challenge the misperception that equates innocence with ignorance. In the film’s surprising climax the lama’s intentions are revealed; the outside world’s misperception of innocence is challenged and we are left to reexamine their own views on life and politics.