Customer Reviews

Travellers & Magicians

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Note: Dzonghka with English subtitles.

Expertly written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, 'Traveller & Magicians' is an enchanting tale of self-discovery and the realization that ones' hopes and dreams are not always as far off as one might think.

Dondup (Tsewang Dandup) hates the life he leads in a remote Himalayan village. Even though he holds an important position he dreams of a life in America with a high paying job and an attractive, sexy wife. He constantly reminds his friends that there are no pretty girls in their small community.

He finally receives a letter from a close friend already in America who has arrainged Dondup's passage to the U.S.A. The only problem is he has only two days to get to the point of departure. Not an easy task considering the isolated, mountainous region of his village and the lack of modern transportation. He is forced to hitchhike the distance.

On the way Dondup is joined by a monk (Sonam Kinga), a drunk, an old man on his way to market to sell apples and another elderly man from Dondup's village traveling with his young and beautiful daughter Sonam (Sonam Lhamo) who has just returned from school to help her recently widowed Father with his rice paper business.

During the two day journey the intuitive monk discerns the inner turmoil within Dondup and his growing affection for Sonam. He cleverly weaves a wonderful tale about an imaginary young man named Tashi (Lhakpa Dorji) and his love affair with the lovely and married Deki (Deki Yangzom) in an effort to help the confused fellow traveller decide what path in life is right for him. By the end of the journey Dondrup has come to realize the truth of the monks statement, "What we hoped for yesterday, we dread today."

This is storytelling at its finest against the backdrop of the enchanting Bhutan countryside. A bittersweet look at life in transition. Very highly recommended!!

In this, his second film, Khyentse Norbu shows how skilled a filmmaker he really is. An ordained lama, he studied independent film-making in New York and here it really pays off. While his first film, The Cup, was a well done portrait of life in Bhutan, Travellers and Magicians is that and much more. Taking his cue from, among other works, the great Ju Dou by Zhang Yimou, Norbu gives us a village official who longs for the excitement and money to be had in America.

Sporting shiny white new athletic shoes, the official makes his way to the main road where he tries to catch a bus to Thimbu, first stop on his journey. But he misses the bus and soon meets up with an interesting assortment of fellow travelers--an old apple seller, a monk, and a farmer with his beautiful daughter. While waiting for the bus--or anyone driving who can give any or all of them a ride--they're entertained by the monk who tells a tale of a young apprentice magician who loses his way in a large forest and comes upon an old man and his much younger wife.

Norbu intercuts the ongoing tale with different legs of the travelers' journey on the seemingly endless road. The editing chops on display here are truly impressive, marking this as the work of a director who really knows how to make a film grab the viewer. We see the young magician lying in bed at night, thinking only of the young wife, and dissolve to the official waking up in the morning, having no doubt thought of the farmer's daughter much of the night.

This is much more than great editing; it gives us strong links between how we live our lives and how we imagine our lives should be lived. The tales we tell, the ones we remember, are those that inform how we feel we should or could do what we're not doing now. It's our memory of another story--what we read long ago, or what someone told us long ago--that gives us the unofficial subconscious laws we live by. That's what Norbu tells us in this great film.

A giant leap forward from The Cup, Travellers and Magicians is a first class cinematic work that should be seen by many.

Highly recommended.

Filmed entirely in Bhutan, "Travelers and Magicians" is a universal tale of a young man with big dreams and no real plan to achieve them.

A twenty-something government official is sent to a small village so remote there is no television, no nightlife, and, as far as he can tell, no pretty girls. The local entertainment consists of archery competitions. This lifestyle just will not do for a thoroughly modern young man who sports an "I (heart) New York" T-shirt and and who prefers high top sneakers to sturdy mountain boots.

The young man jumps at a chance to go to the United States. But he has to lie to his boss to get away and on his way out of town people keep stopping him and offering him their hospitality. By the time he makes it to the road, he's missed his bus to Bhutan's capital. There won't be another bus for a week, so he begins his journey on foot.

Then the fun begins as he reluctantly acquires an odd assortment of companions, including a well traveled Buddhist priest who is more than a little concerned about the young man's vague plans for making it big in America.

Instead of preaching, the priest entertains his companions with a cautionary tale about a lazy young magician who also wanted to run away from home in order to find his "dreamland."

The young man is just beginning to warm to the priest's story when they are joined by a rice paper merchant and his beautiful daughter. The pair is also going to the capital. From there, the merchant says he's taking the girl, who has been away at boarding school, back home to the very village our hero has left behind.

Although he initially dismisses the girl when the merchant explains that her test scores weren't good enough for college, he discovers that she's very bright and funny, and that they enjoy each other's company. She confides that her test scores were fine, but she's going home because her father needs help with his business.

Suddenly the lights of New York aren't shining so brightly after all. What will the young man do?

This is a sweet, funny, and gently thoughtful movie about dreams, duty, impermanence, and how small events can change the course of one's life.

This movie made me both think and smile. I hope you will let it do the same for you.

I reccomend that everyone see this, if not for the fact that it is a beautifully told story, but that, I believe, this is one of the few (if not the only) Bhutanese film released in the United States.

"Travellers & Magicians" doesn't rely on loud, boisterous special effects, airbrushed superstars or computer-generated chase sequences. What it does rely on is a believable plot line, an exasperated lead character, Dondup (Tshewang Dendup), who wants nothing more but to leave his tired Bhutanese village, go into the big city, and, ultimately leave for the United States. Dondup is dissatisfied with his government job, the fact that there are few (if any) cute girls for him to acquaint himself with, no movie theatres or restaurants. This is a universal plight that anyone from a small town (or village) can relate to, be they in Bhutan or in a small town in the flatlands of the United States. As he attempts to leave, during one of the village festivals, he encounters a monk, a fruit vendor, an elderly man and his daughter. They are all trying to hitch a ride, for various reasons. Although, the self-absorbed Dondup is, at first, rather annoyed at his unsolicited companions, he eventually becomes drawn into the monk's storytelling. In fact, he is so compelled to hear the conclusion of the story (parallel to his plight), that he allows the fruit vendor to leave on the next tour bus out, just to stay behind and listen to the conclusion.

This film examines "the grass is greener" view that we all share, regardless of culture. Is it really the environment with which we surround ourselves (the outer), or our own general outlook on life (the inner), that determines our ultimate satisfaction with life? Just something to ponder......

I echo the views of the most of the reviewers--this is an enchanting movie (and I disagree entirely with the one reviewer who found it not to his liking). I have just returned from Bhutan and the movie captures quite well the spectacular scenery of the country. But, even more, it captures the spririt and ethos of the Bhutanese people. It is a rewarding movie.

My first thought when I saw the gorgeous landscape was "where is Bhutan?" It is a small country between India and China that has regulated foreign influence to maintain its traditional Buddhist culture.

It was beautiful to see the interations between people as this simple story unfolded. I enjoyed the glimpses of traditional culture and the way of life. Most of the tale takes place along a road in the Himalayas where people who have a vehicle stop give people along the road a ride.

It was a refreshing visit to a gentle, magical realm. This movie makes me want to visit this country.

Having been to Bhutan last year, it was like going home to see this movie--the scenery, the Buddhist "walking talk" sort of wisdom, the simplicity and beauty of film making in such a setting. I was touched and highly recommend this film.

It's obvious that director/writer Khyentse Norbu had a statement to make - about his country Bhutan, about the Bhutanese film industry, and about finding happiness right where you are. Unfortunately, he can't deliver on all counts.

From the opening scenes the film is testament to the beauty of the Himalayan mini-state of Bhutan. Any film maker watching this movie must be running through his head all manner of scenarios to exploit the country's natural beauty. That Travelers and Magicians was made with local crew and cast speaks admirably to the abilities of the Bhutanese to create world-class film.

But the script reveals that Khyentse Norbu, while perhaps a great scholar of Buddhism, is not always a great writer of stories. His debut film, The Cup, was a charming tale built on an ensemble cast of mostly children, a simple story about monks infatuated with soccer who go to comedic lengths to watch live broadcasts of the World Cup.

Travelers and Magicians is a bit more complex. It's a story within a story, requiring the director to not only deliver on two fronts but to seamlessly weave from the two a unified whole. The film begins in modern Bhutan with Dondup, a young man infatuated with the USA and eager to escape the simple rural life of Bhutan. On the road to the capital of Thimphu, he meets up with a monk, who in Dondup is reminded of Tashi, a young lad restless for adventure. To while away the long hours of travel, the monk begins his story of long, long ago and throughout the film we cut back and forth between Dondup and the monk, and the tale of Tashi.

The fable is for all its soft tones, titled camera angles, and vivid colors, the more realistic of the two stories. We see how Tashi and his supporting cast develop over the course of the story, how they change through their interactions with each other.. The same can't be said for the characters in the framing story, who come off as devices, stereotypical, one dimensional stand-ups - the disillusioned youth seeking escape, the wise monk who reminds him of the verities of life, the innocent girl whose charm and beauty softens the hero's heart, and the country bumpkins who tag along for comic relief. By the end of the film, we hardly know them at all. While Dondup comes to realize that happiness is not something to seek from without but from within, it's a last minute conversion that leaves a hollow, empty feeling.

Travelers and Magicians is an obvious labor of love from cast and crew and where effort and earnestness are concerned there is no doubt the film is deserving of the highest honors. If only the magicians had spun a spell over the script, it would be perfect.

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Beautiful and poignant. The protagonist has a good life, but is dissatisfied, and his peception of it's imperfect nature leads him to jump on any opportunity for something he believes will be better. After becoming obsessed with a particular place, which he believes to be paradise, he has the opportunity to go there, and begins his journey, only to discover how satisfying his life as it is can be. It's a pretty interesting message for us Westerners, as it runs counter to some of the fundamental assumptions of our society, such as the idea that life will always be inadequate, no matter how good it gets, and that we must always strive for better, no matter what the cost.

Travellers and Magicians is a charming story beautifully filmed. This drama is well acted. The characters are interesting and humourus. This story is suitable for all ages and provides a glimpse into the culture and customs of people living in the Himalayas,a beautiful area of the world that few will ever get to see in their lives. I originally rented this film and then bought a copy so that I would be able to watch it many times.