Is “political freedom” worth the cost of familial or social discord? When Bhutan’s king abdicates in favour of democratic reform, a strange series of events unfolds, where the old and the new collide in wondrous fashion. When young monk Tashi’s lama (Buddhist master) asks him to procure a pair of guns in advance of their country’s first mock election – to “set it right”, whatever that means – he doesn’t ask questions, he simply strolls off into the unspoiled countryside towards neighbouring Ura village. One problem: Tashi has never seen a gun before!

Balancing the contrasts between tradition and modernization, city and rural life, this film weaves a colourful tapestry of Bhutan’s relatively recent democratic transition, gilded all round with a subtle comedic edge. Forget understanding the electoral process, bemused villagers struggle to even fathom the need for the proposed changes in government, while a confused American arms dealer may get more (and less) than he bargains for. Dorji’s (Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom) satire may be gentle rather than sharp, yet The Monk and the Gun effectively skewers “democracy” and “modernity” as Western cultural constructs; exploring how an indigenous approach to applying these concepts might be taken, carrying culture and values intact into the future. — Jacob Powell

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.