Movie #2112 "Lunana: Yak in the Classroom" (Apple - rented) -- out of all the Oscar prep I did this year, I found this one the oddest film that was nominated --- but as a teacher, it has been the one I have been thinking about the most in the days since I viewed it. It was a nominee for foreign language film, and I found it better than most in this category --- similar to the winner ("Drive my Car") in pacing -- s-l-o-w, but I found it much more entertaining --- maybe it was because I was a teacher and it concerned one, but then on the other side of the coin, "Drive My Car" was about theatre, but it never pulled me in that much. Anyway, back to Lunana, it is a simple story: a young man dreams of being a singer in Australia, but he's got to finish out a contract he made with a government teaching job in Bhutan. His heart isn't in the teaching job, to the point that he dreads waking up each morning and his grandma whom he lives with has to drag him out of bed. He finally tells the principal he doesn't want to do this any more, so she suggests he be sent to the remotest village in Bhutan for his last job ---he asks why? She says, it will be a short stay because it gets so cold & they close for several months, and they NEED anyone, so even he would probably do okay. So he agrees, and about 20 minutes of the film is just traveling to the gig --- on a train, on a bus, and then walking, walking, walking up hills for 8 DAYS! no electricity, no bathrooms, sleeps on floor, and big thing when he gets there ---- no HEAT! And when he gets there finally, there's a big group of people who have been waiting for the TEACHER!!!! the title refers to a gift he gets -- a Yak, because the Yak's dung is so important to use like coal to heat your home (or in this case, the school). Yes, I found it slow, but I found it so interesting with the quirky characters and the newness of all the adventures to him and me. It would make teachers laugh, I think, because it underlines all the sacrifices teachers go through to make the magic happen in each and every classroom they helm. Kudos to all the teachers out there --- you have your own yaks in the classroom that you have to deal with, and we are so grateful that you do! I give this 4 out of 5. Not for everyone, but once again, I thought it was entertaining.
"LUNANA: YAK IN THE CLASSROOM" (apple - rented) 1 hour 50 mins 2019
An aspiring singer living with his grandmother in the capital of Bhutan dreams of getting a visa to move to Australia.
Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Writer: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Actors: Sherab Dorji, Ugye Norbu Lhendup, Kelden Lhamo Gurung and a little girl named Pem Zam, playing herself and she nearly steals this movie from the adults!
just in case, my plot synopsis wasn't clear, here is one on IMDB:
A young teacher in modern Bhutan, Ugyen, shirks his duties while planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, a glacial Himalayan village called Lunana, to complete his service. He finds himself exiled from his Westernized comforts after an arduous 8 day trek just to get there. There he finds no electricity, no textbooks, not even a blackboard. Though poor, the villagers extend a warm welcome to their new teacher, but he faces the daunting task of teaching the village children without any supplies. He wants to quit and go home, but he begins to learn of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, and begins to be transformed through the amazing spiritual strength of the villagers.
No comments:
Post a Comment