'The Monk and the Gun' Casts a Humorous Mirror To The U.S.
What does it take to have a democracy? Writer/Director Pawo Choyning Dorji examines the complexities of a democratic system while uplifting the audience. The Monk and the Gun is humorous and heartwarming. How the effects of a Democratic system impact the Bhutanese isn't too dissimilar from America. However, the Bhutanese are a far more peaceful group of people. Maybe it's because not everyone is running around with guns. Could that change, however? An elderly Lama (Kelsang Choejey) sends a young Monk, Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk), on an errand. Retrieve his guns before the next full moon. Why he wants these guns is unspoken. The Lama feels something is coming in the wake of Bhutan's mock election. So he needs to be ready.
The film takes place in 2006. Bhutan is one of the last countries to gain access to television and the internet, causing them to change the ways in which their country is being run. Their 51-year-old Monarch announces that he will abdicate his position in favor of a Democracy. To test how democracy will work, Bhutan holds a mock election where voters must vote between three colors. Blue is freedom and equality. Red is for industrial development, and yellow is for preservation.
It's funny how, even between Red and Blue, both countries have similar ideologies. The Americans associate Red with industrial development themselves. The Republican Party is seen as the practical working man's way. They promote drilling and coal mining to help develop their Nation. While the Democratic Party is viewed as the empathetic party thriving for equal rights for all citizens. Both sides violently and ideologically clash. Why would Bhutan want to be a part of that? That's what many of its inhabitants think. And for good reason. Many of the Bhutanese are happy with the system that they have. Yet not everyone feels that way.
A young Election Organizer vows to help teach the people of Bhutan how an election works by organizing and registering voters for the mock election. In one very humorous scene, she has someone teach a group of voters how to protest against each other's side. The instructor tells everyone to get more riled up so they can play up their passion for voting. Both sides pretend to hate each other, screaming at one another in favor of their party. An elderly woman approaches the election organizer overseeing the fake protest, telling her she shouldn't teach people to be so impolite. She's not wrong. The idea of an election doesn't have to result in two sides going after each other. They can peacefully vote for their chosen candidate without having to result in the impassioned shenanigans the United States does.
The Election Organizer wants change in her country as does a family who's being thrust into conflict thanks to the mock election. The daughter of the family is bullied in her school because her Grandmother is voting for a different color than they all are. The father of the family is too occupied working on one of the campaigns, causing a rift between him and his wife. They argue because of the wife's mother voting for another party. The family wants to change away from their cheap life. Just like how politics cause friction in most American households, the politics of the family can tear people apart. Moreso, there's a love for guns America has that Bhutan is beginning to come head to head with.
During the quest to retrieve the Lama's guns, a Buddhist master buys them from an American gun trader, Ronald Colman (Harry Einhorn), for a hefty sum of money. It's not just any gun, but an authentic Civil War rifle, with the ball bullets intact. Before the American can bring the money to the Master, he gives the guns to Tashi. What proceeds is a funny cat-and-mouse game of Ronald with his partner, who helped him find the gun, Benji (Tandin Sonam), chasing down Tashi so they can get the gun back. The problem is Tashi must return the gun to the Lama at his temple before the next full moon, refusing to give away the guns unless the American can get him two AK47s before the next full moon.
There's a great scene that's a social commentary on America's use of guns. Tashi hitches a ride from the Election Organizer. In the packed car full of voters, Tashi is holding a giant rifle next to them. He tells everyone he doesn't know what the gun is for, but it was requested that he bring it to the temple. Similar to how we don't bat an eye when people can purchase guns so easily without a thought in the world about how they will be used.
How the guns are used at the end of the film is heartwarming. Without giving much away, not a shot is fired in the movie. Director Pawo Choyning commentates on democracy, saying how it brings about change that's worth the friction. Bhutan held its first real election in 2008. It has remained a peaceful nation since.
How everyone in Bhutan reacts to guns is different from America. They're not idealized. Instead, they're seen as the lethal, unhip tools they are. Ronald is obsessed with guns, while Tashi doesn't know what to do with them, even holding the gun incorrectly over his shoulder when heading to the temple with them. What ultimately matters is how United everyone is in the film without having to use the guns. The Monk and the Gun is a simple film about politics that doesn't get lost in dramatics or flexing. It's a sweet picture with a message of peace that wears its heart on its shoulders.
The Monk and the Gun opens in theaters on February 9th.
