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Travellers and Magicians (2003)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
21 April 2004 (France) moreTagline:
The bitter and the sweet of temporary thingsPlot:
The two men embark on parallel, if separate, journeys. Their yearning is a common one--for a better and different life... more | add synopsisAwards:
2 wins & 1 nomination moreUser Comments:
Journeys and Green Grass moreCast
(Credited cast)| Tsewang Dandup | ... | Dondup | |
| Sonam Lhamo | ... | Sonam | |
| Lhakpa Dorji | ... | Tashi | |
| Deki Yangzom | ... | Deki | |
| Sonam Kinga | ... | The Monk | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Dorji Budha | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Sanga Budha | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Sumcho Budha | ... | Kinzang Wangchuk | |
| Nim Buthri | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Aum Chenzom | ... | Girl in Field | |
| Sonam Choepel | ... | Magic Student | |
| Neten Chokling | ... | Bus Driver | |
| Lam Dawup | ... | Magic Student | |
| Chhmi Dem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Kinzang Dem | ... | Villlager of Chendebaji | |
| Phub Dem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Phuchu Dem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Thinley Dem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Lama Yeshi Dendup | ... | Magic Student | |
| Ap Dochu | ... | Appleman | |
| Phunstsho Domia | ... | Phallus Handlers | |
| Dechen Dorjee | ... | Drunk Man | |
| Namgay Dorjee | ... | Karma | |
| Donam Dorji | ... | Sedan Passenger | |
| Goley Dorji | ... | Villlager of Chendebji | |
| Mani Dorji | ... | Archer | |
| Pelden Dorji | ... | Magic Student | |
| Pem Dorji | ... | Archer | |
| Phub Dorji | ... | Villager of Chendebji | |
| Samdrup Dorji | ... | Tata Truck Driver | |
| Tshering Dorji | ... | Postmaster | |
| Ugyen Dorji | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Dasho Yeshi Droji | ... | Phallus Handlers | |
| Jigme Drukpa | ... | Phunsok | |
| Gup Kado Duba | ... | Squinting Man | |
| Gangchu | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Gurula | ... | Post Runner | |
| Venerable Lungtaen Gyatso | ... | Magic Teacher | |
| Nim Gyeltshen | ... | Archer | |
| Aum Daw Gyem | ... | Girl in Field | |
| Gyemo | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Phub Gyem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Thinley Gyem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Lt. Col. Dasho Kado | ... | Village Head | |
| Karma | ... | Tenzin Wangmo | |
| Dasho Bato Karp | ... | Farmer | |
| Kinlem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Choki Lahm | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Lemo | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Kelzang Lhadon | ... | Girl in Field | |
| Sangay Lhamo | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Tenzing Lham | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Tshoki Lham | ... | Nidup Lham | |
| Lungten | ... | Bus Passenger | |
| Apa Mindu | ... | Tractor Operator | |
| Nimchu | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Kezang Norbu | ... | Sedan Driver | |
| Mangi Ap Norbu | ... | Archer | |
| Sonam Norbu | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Tadin Norbu | ... | Tractor Passenger | |
| Tandin Norbu | ... | Sonam Norbu | |
| Wandchuk Norbu | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Khandu Om | ... | Ugyen Dorji | |
| Sithar Om | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Pelzang | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Dorji Pem | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Gomchen Penjore | ... | Agay | |
| Sithay Pern | ... | Phub Dern | |
| Ugyen Pern | ... | Tobgayla | |
| Tsampa Tshering Phuntsho | ... | Magic Student | |
| Rinzinia | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Phub Rinzin | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Dasho Adab Sangye | ... | Sonam's Father | |
| Phub Sangye | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Karma Sherub | ... | Bus Passenger | |
| Chogye Sithup | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Sumcho | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Sumda | ... | Villager of Chendebji | |
| Dophu Tashi | ... | Nim Buthri | |
| Nim Tashi | ... | Archer | |
| Gyem Tenzin | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Phub Thinley | ... | Phallus Singer | |
| Tenzin Thinley | ... | Magic Student | |
| Pemba Tshering | ... | Archer | |
| Ugyen Tshomo | ... | Beetlenut Lady | |
| Villagers of Chendebji | ... | Phallus Handlers | |
| Kinzang Wanchuk | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Pema Wangchuck | ... | Bus Passenger | |
| Wangchuk | ... | Archer | |
| Jigme Wangchuk | ... | Bus Passenger | |
| Ugyen Wangchuk | ... | Tractor Driver | |
| Kencho Wangmo | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Kezang Wangmo | ... | Pelzang | |
| Kinzang Wangmo | ... | Thinley Dern | |
| Sangay Wangmo | ... | Phub Gyem | |
| Taza Wangmo | ... | Phuchu Dern | |
| Tenzin Wangmo | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Thinley Wangmo | ... | Villlager of Chendebaji | |
| Tshering Wangmo | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Tshering Yangchen | ... | Village Lady | |
| Karma Yangki | ... | Rice Girl | |
| Chhimi Zam | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Dorji Zam | ... | Gangchu | |
| Kinley Zam | ... | Villager of Chendebaji | |
| Norbu Zangmo | ... | Pem Dorji | |
| Tendi Zangmo | ... | Girl in Field | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
108 minLanguage:
DzongkhaColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Australia:PG | South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Mexico:BFilming Locations:
BhutanFun Stuff
Trivia:
First film to be shot in Bhutan, the Himalayan nation/kingdom that was prototype for Lost Horizon (1937). moreQuotes:
Drunk Man: So, where are you and your friends going?The Monk: [pointing to the appleman] Well, he and I, to Thimphu.
[pointing to Dondup]
The Monk: That one, to a dreamland.
Drunk Man: A dreamland? I want to go too.
The Monk: Looks like you're already there.
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Travellers and Magicians (2003)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Mystery of Deki | mecha_radicalstar |
| Songs? | KazKazui |
| i'm surprised it didnt get enough attention. | GreenIsTheColor |
| Great movie | rubensgram |
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Dondup (Tsewang Dandup) is a Bhutanese government officer who has just been assigned to a small village. He's anxiously awaiting a letter from a friend in America. As soon as he receives it, he plans to meet his friend in Bhutan's capital, Timphu, and from there make his way to America, which he imagines of a land of great beauty and great opportunity, with "cool", beautiful women and an exciting lifestyle.
Extending from the premise, Travellers and Magicians becomes a combination of a road film and a grass-is-greener film. Dondup receives his letter, but partially due to cultural formalities and niceties, he misses the bus he needed to catch to make it to Timphu--a 2-day journey--on time. Increasingly agitated, he meets up with a humble apple-seller and a Buddhist monk on the road, and eventually two more people join the group. While they travel, the monk very gradually tells them a parallel story meant to serve as a parable, which we see enacted.
The structure and subgenres of the film provide a nice framework for two major, intertwined themes, both of them very Buddhist in nature. The subtler theme, most rooted in it being a road movie, is that of living in the moment, which is one aspect of mindfulness. The journey, here shown in a literal way, but also meant figuratively, is just as important as arriving at a destination. The more explicit theme, rooted in the grass-is-greener aspect, is a warning against the attachment to hopes, desires and dreams. Attachment is different than merely having hopes, desires and dreams. Attachment is a state where one stops being mindful of the here and now.
Dondup keeps dreaming about America. In his mind, he's already there, and his appearance and behavior evidence this. He talks of how beautiful it must be, yet Bhutan, which is on the edge of South-Central China, in the Himalayas, not too far from Mount Everest and Nepal, isn't short on beauty. Exquisite cinematography keeps us aware of this, and stresses how Dondup cannot see what is right in front of his face. He also dreams of the job he might hold in America--perhaps he'll be an apple-picker or dishwasher, he muses. But he has a relatively well-paid and certainly well-respected position in his culture. He dreams of the women in America, yet he runs into a very beautiful and elegant woman on his journey who is young, single and very attracted to him. The grass-is-greener theme even rears its head by Dondup trying to block out live music that's right in front of him (thanks to the Monk with a dramnyen, which is a bit like a guitar) by playing western music on a boom box.
At the same time, the parallel story told by the monk features a young man with similar dreams who inadvertently escapes to an unknown area where he too meets a beautiful woman who is attracted to him. The woman's husband has also achieved "the other side of the fence" in his grass-is-greener dream, but with the arrival of the young man, it backfires on him. Achieving the greener grass also ends up backfiring on the young man in a way, and he seeks a return home.
It's important to remember that in Buddhism, these ideas are not presented in moralizing way, and they're not presented as something black and white. Hopes, desires and dreams are not considered bad things (and neither is attachment--the problems with such things are more matter-of-factly presented), and certainly, the grass could be greener somewhere else. Because of this, Travellers and Magicians writer/director Khyentse Norbu maintains appropriate degrees of ambiguity throughout the film. While doing so, he presents a story with important themes that is captivatingly told with beautiful cinematography and excellent performances. Don't miss this one.