A complex, observant, and bittersweet look at the nature of fulfilment viewed through the infrequently glimpsed lens of Bhutanese culture, Agent of Happiness ponders the value of joy and how hard it can be to achieve such merriment when the government seems to place a mandate upon it.
Filmmakers Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó dive into Bhutan’s culture of Gross National Happiness, a mathematical equation and index that the country’s ruling family prides itself upon and insists influences national policy. Agent of Happiness focuses primarily upon Amber Kumar Gurung, one of Bhutan’s seventy-five agents who travels door-to-door asking citizens to complete surveys asking various questions about their level of contentment. Amber’s travels take him to rural locations where happiness can be as simple as the birth of a new calf to cities where transpeople and marginalized persons feel unsafe and whose voices are frequently unheard and unrepresented.
The irony of Agent of Happiness can be found brilliantly in Bhattarai and Zurbó’s subject: a forty-something man stuck in a rut as a result of his Tibetan heritage. Following an ethnic conflict in the 90s, Gurung has become a man without a country and few rights, making his job a perfect reflection of a broken society that keeps insisting everything is okay. But Agent of Happiness isn’t a dark film, but rather one that finds a great deal of warmth and understanding in sometimes tough situations. It’s both pleasing and critical in equal measure, a tough balance for any film to pull off, let alone one set in a culture as insular as what’s found in Bhutan.
Friday, April 26, 2024 – 1:15 pm – Scotiabank 7
Saturday, April 27, 2024 – 10:00 am – TIFF Lightbox 1
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