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Sunshine and Rainbows

Agent-of-happiness-movie-review-gunaraj-kuikel-kinley-tshering-amber-kumar-gurung
Arun Bhattarai/Sundance Institute

MOVIE REVIEW
Agent of Happiness (2024)

Bhutan has made itself famous for its happiness index, for which 75 people criss-cross the nation asking the people they encounter around 150 questions about their personal happiness out of a scale from zero to 10. The survey is mainly in English, which is a surprise, and the king uses it as a base for developmental decisions around the nation. “Agent of Happiness” follows several of the surveyors as they complete their work before focusing in on Amber Kumar Gurung, who is a charming man in his early 40s who cares for his mother and is in a tricky personal position. He is ethnically Nepali; and his family was stripped of their citizenship when he was a toddler, meaning his entire life has been shaped by his statelessness. No full-time work, no wife and family, and only limited hope for the future. Directors Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó undertake in-depth filming with the most interesting interviewees Mr. Gurung comes across, but also had the sense to follow Mr. Gurung as he searches for happiness for himself.

It's rapidly obvious how Mr. Gurung has perhaps not necessarily succeeded at dating, as on a first date he goes right ahead and brings up marriage. His paramour takes a few moments to phrase her tactful response, making it’s clear things might have gone differently had the cameras not been right there at the table. But while he might be a little inept personally, through his work on the survey Mr. Gurung is able to discuss people’s feelings nonjudgmentally as a quasi-counsellor. The people interviewed are clearly unused to anyone expressing interest in their lives, but they all speak with a thoughtfulness practically unimaginable in Westerners. They are filmed going through their daily lives, polishing their shoes, cleaning their school, or visiting temple, as their thoughts about how they have, or haven’t, found their own happiness are presented in voiceover. They might be unsophisticated but they are not stupid; and it’s obvious the directors knew they’d struck gold, as everyone here is bursting at the seams to talk about themselves, now that somebody is listening.

The interviewees include a transgender nightclub dancer who diligently answers the survey questions about how many farm animals and harvest equipment she owns (none), the three wives of an insufferable man who have figured out how to live well together in spite of him, a teenage daughter who prays to have the same mother again in the next life as long as in the next life her mother doesn’t drink, and a widower who has come to realize his late beloved wife has been reincarnated as his new beloved grandson. Not everyone is delightful but everyone is fascinating; and everyone is treated with kindness and respect. But the main greatness of this film is that nothing shown is exoticized; for example in the many shots of people in front of the breathtakingly beautiful mountain scenery they are busily posing for selfies. The worries of everyday life – caring for elderly mothers, cooking dinners, helping little sisters with their homework – are also universal, as are the questions of citizenship and belonging which fret at Mr. Gurung and his mother.

The interviews finish with a sample of the happiness survey questions from the interviewee, which were so charming that’s how this review is also going to end. Something this personal kind of inspires you to reflect as well. This is a lovely and kind documentary that handles big subjects with an unusual amount of honesty; I’m so happy I watched it at the Sundance Film Festival.

Happiness Index

Number of Cows 0
Trust in Neighbors 6
Sense of Worry 4
Sense of Belonging 3
Connection to Nature 2
Happiness Level  6

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