Review of Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom / ལུང་ནག་ན, directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji

I remember when this movie first came out, and I thought it was so cool that a Bhutanese movie was getting major nods from the Western awards.

As an American, I feel like a lot of people don’t know that Bhutan is a country, let alone a place on Earth in general.

It’s so interesting to me how a lot of people absolutely are terrible at geographies of South Asia beyond India here, and it amazes me in general when I talk to people and they have no idea what Bangladesh even is—our school systems lack an international approach.

Anyways, I heard of this movie back then, yet I didn’t watch it until years later.

In recent days, I’ve been quite obsessed with learning more about Bhutan. I find the country to be so fascinating, and I even sourced one of the few Bhutanese restaurants when I was in New York to try and learn more about the people and culture.

If I end up landing a Fulbright to go to India (fingers crossed), I think I am trying to stop in Bhutan whenever possible to see what the beautiful country has to offer. I ended up watching this movie because of this newfound interest.

Let’s get into the review!

A disinterested school teacher is sent to the most rural school in Bhutan.

Our main character in Lunana is Uygen, who lives in the city part of Bhutan and is about to do his last year of mandatory teaching, He truly cannot wait to get out of this place, as he plans on moving to Australia upon completing his teaching requirements to pursue his real dream: being a musician.

His grandmother disapproves of his habits and modern ideals, but when the government sends him to one of the most remote schools in the country, in Lunana, he really starts considering right there. His grandmother convinces him otherwise.

He takes the bus to the first leg of his journey, where the villager Michen joins him. It is extremely difficult to get to Lunana, and even the fancy hiking gear Uygen bought in the city can’t stand up to the mud he finds himself knee-deep inside of.

When he finally arrives, the villagers are ecstatic to see him there, but Uygen isn’t too thrilled when he realizes what he has to live in during this final year of teaching. He admits he regrets coming here, and the village leader offers to take him back in a few days.

But when Uygen is woken up by Pem Zam, a young girl who is the class leader, she informs he is late for class. He arrives to a class full of waiting children, then realizes they don’t even have a chalkboard.

But while he talks to these students, he’s blown away by their maturity., love for him already, and the fact they’re dedicated to their education. This gives him a change of heart, and he decides to stay and give them the chance to achieve their dreams.

Uygen then finds other solutions to keep teaching, and begins making improvements for the classroom, such as using his own paper in the home for the kids to write on. The kids love him as he teaches math, English, and Dzongkha, the local language, but when winter arrives, Uygen prepares to leave.

One life changing moment happens for him though—he sees one of his students singing a traditional song while outside, and she teaches him the meaning of it. Uygen is then given a yak, as its feces can be used to make a fire, but he has to keep it in the classroom while he teaches.

Winter really arrives, and the village head tells Uygen it’s time. The pass gets covered in snow, so if he doesn’t leave soon, he will be stuck there.He wants Uygen to come back in the spring, but he tells him he will be moving to Australia, which is disappointing for everyone in the village.

He leaves Lunana, with everyone passionately telling him goodbye, and the kids write him a gorgeous letter telling him to come home. When he arrives in Australia, at the end of the movie, nobody pays attention as Uygen sings until he sings his student’s song.

Overall Thoughts

I found this to be such an important movie, as not only does it teach us about rural Bhutan, but also some simple lessons about what it means to live in these environments.

Early on in the movie, the children share their dreams, which many cannot achieve without an education.

But because they were born in Lunana, it seems unlikely they will ever come close, especially with the lack of resources and educational materials these kids are given.

Even Uygen has a change of heart when he sees the conditions, and it changes him forever. I hope this movie changes a lot of people, makes them examine their privilege if they’re coming from a Western attitude as well.

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