Bhutan is a mountainous landlocked nation sandwiched between China and India. The Bhutanese have a rivalry with Tibet, which is probably all anybody need know about who these folks are. What do you guys fight about — who can reach inner peace faster? If the movie is to be believed -and there’s reason it shouldn’t be- Bhutan was the last nation on the planet to get the internet. My God, what did the Bhutanese do for porn?! You poor savages.
In 2006, King Bhutan (King Jigme Singye Wangchuck) -or whatever his actual name is- decided “let’s have elections to decided who rulez this internet-free mountain” which is where our story begins. Of course, if you lived all your life in a country without elections, you might not know what’s up with that. Hence, in the time before the first election at the end of 2007, Bhutan held a practice election or two to get it right. Shrewd. Very shrewd.
Oh, you poor Bhutanese bastards … sure, voting and democracy looks like fun, but it’s just a matter of time before some ultra-partisan moron is on TV pronouncing the “c” in “indictment.” Monarchies suck. We know this from history, but voting is like Eve taking the apple — you’ll never get your self-righteous innocence back again and you’ll never truly be happy again so long as you understand politics. *sigh*
Our hero, for lack of a better word, is a monk named Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk… everybody Wangchuk tonight). I want to say Tashi “roams the Earth like Caine in Kung Fu,” but that’s not quite right. Tashi does much roaming in the film, but it’s purposeful. When he retreats to the monastery in Act I, his master, a lama, hears of the upcoming elections and tells Tashi, “I want two guns” citing uncertain times ahead.
If you’re a sane person with even a passing knowledge of Himalayan culture, you will ask yourself, “What the Hell does a monk want with a gun?!” which is a perfectly reasonable question … and almost certainly this film was made so that potential audience members will ask this question.
I’m not 
going to tell you the answer. That would spoil it. But it’s hard not to summon the image of “Gandhi II” from UHF. “No more Mr. Passive Resistance.”
I should point out here that Bhutan ain’t exactly a mecca for firearms. But Tashi and problematic American Ron Coleman (Harry Einhorn) have both tracked one down. The same gun, as it turns out. This is not before Tashi becomes fascinated by promos for Quantum of Solace … which won’t come out for another two years. (Pretty impressive that a country without internet managed to get television promos two years in the future, huh?)
The Monk and the Gun is a feel-good film, but little more. I found it amiable, but shallow and cliché at the same time. I suppose if you have the same exposure to film as your average Bhutanese yak-herder, well, The Monk and the Gun might be your experience of a lifetime. So curse my experience and cynicism. I found this material passable if eye-rolling, like a sing-a-long at a day camp. I am happy this movie exists for a certain audience and that’s as far as I will promote it.
There once was a young Monk name Tashi
Who had all the experience of a frosh-y
His boss set him loose
To retrieve a metal noose
But all it did was make him wishy-washy
Rated PG-13, 107 Minutes
Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Writer: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Genre: Get ready for a surprise!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Pacifists
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who want a little more depth
