Travellers & Magicians
by Khyentse Norbu
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DVD details
Actor: Deki Yangzom, Lhakpa Dorji, Sonam Kinga, Sonam Lhamo, Tshewang DendupDirector: Khyentse Norbu
Brand: Zeitgeist Films
Cinematographer: Alan Kozlowski
Writer: Khyentse Norbu
Editor: Andrew McCormick
Editor: John Scott
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Producer: Malcolm Watson
Producer: Raymond Steiner
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 108 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-10-25
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
DVD Reviews of Travellers & Magicians
DVD Review: Beautiful film that never quite realizes its ambitions
Summary: 3 Stars
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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Description of Travellers & Magicians
Mystical journeys of spiritual discovery are set against the spectacular, evocative landscape of the remote kingdom of Bhutan in TRAVELLERS & MAGICIANS Young government official Dondup (Tshewang Dendup) dreams of escaping to America while stuck in a ravishingly beautiful but isolated village. But when he misses his bus to the city (and an awaiting visa), Dondup is forced to hitchhike with an elderly apple seller, a sage young monk, an old man, and his beautiful daughter (Sonam Lhamo). Along the way, the mischievous monk tells Dondup a story of another young man who sought a land far away: a tale of lust, jealousy and murder that holds up a mirror to the restless Dondup and his blossoming attraction to the innocent young woman. Directed by Khyentse Norbu (AKA Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Himalayan Buddhism?s most revered lamas who made his feature directing debut with the monks-who-soccer sleeper THE CUP), this critical and box-office hit magnificently intertwines twin love stories for an enchanting, unforgettable film that is filled with heart, hope and humor.Bestsellers in DVD
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