'Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom' is that old cinema standby, the culture-clash comedy: sophisticated big-city boy finds himself stranded in a remote rural setting and gradually comes to appreciate, in heart-warming fashion, the simpler, more honest ways of the countryfolk. You've seen something similar a hundred times before. The difference is this film is set in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
With just one year of government service left to serve, Ugyen (the personable Sherab Dorji) is sent from the Bhutanese capital, Thimphu (population 114,000) to the tiny village of Lunana (population: 56), a long bus ride and eight days' hiking away. There he will serve as teacher to the village's nine children. But used to the music clubs and coffee bars of Thimphu, Ugyen finds Lunana - intermittent solar power, heating by dried yak dung and a toilet that is merely a hole in the ground (the children use the toilet seat as a netball ring) - to be a trying experience. Will he stay in the village, or will his Australian visa prove too great a lure? What do you think?
Staging the film's world premiere, the 2019 London Film Festival had this marked as suitable for children aged eight. I wonder about that: while they will probably find the dung jokes hilarious, youngsters may find the gentle pace - and almost two hour running time - a tad boring, and the sub-titles tough going (the LFF sensibly hired an actress to read them for the little ones). As as adult, though, I found the film informative - having a pre-conceived idea of Bhutan as being a sleepy backwater, it was a shock to see Thimphu's traffic-heavy streets - and an easy watch in its predictability. Plus, the scenery around Lunana itself is absolutely stunning. It is definitely well worth adding this film to your world cinema watchlist.
With just one year of government service left to serve, Ugyen (the personable Sherab Dorji) is sent from the Bhutanese capital, Thimphu (population 114,000) to the tiny village of Lunana (population: 56), a long bus ride and eight days' hiking away. There he will serve as teacher to the village's nine children. But used to the music clubs and coffee bars of Thimphu, Ugyen finds Lunana - intermittent solar power, heating by dried yak dung and a toilet that is merely a hole in the ground (the children use the toilet seat as a netball ring) - to be a trying experience. Will he stay in the village, or will his Australian visa prove too great a lure? What do you think?
Staging the film's world premiere, the 2019 London Film Festival had this marked as suitable for children aged eight. I wonder about that: while they will probably find the dung jokes hilarious, youngsters may find the gentle pace - and almost two hour running time - a tad boring, and the sub-titles tough going (the LFF sensibly hired an actress to read them for the little ones). As as adult, though, I found the film informative - having a pre-conceived idea of Bhutan as being a sleepy backwater, it was a shock to see Thimphu's traffic-heavy streets - and an easy watch in its predictability. Plus, the scenery around Lunana itself is absolutely stunning. It is definitely well worth adding this film to your world cinema watchlist.