Buddhism, Bhutan and Me
2021 · 27m · Bhutan
Directed by Rinzin Jurmey
Genres: coming-of-age, documentary
Tones: contemplative, tender
Rinzin Jurmey joined a Bhutanese monastery at 11; now 18, he moves between mountain village, monastery and Thimphu, balancing Buddhist tradition against hip-hop, breakdancing, video games and social media in a nation weighing modernity against Gross National Happiness.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Everyone expects the monastery-vs.-modernity essay, but Jurmey's actually made something weirder: a film that lets both worlds coexist without resolution, which infuriates the narrative-hungry but feels like actual life.
A formally composed portrait of spiritual inheritance in real time, positioned within the documentary tradition of Werner Herzog's monastery films but grounded in a distinctly Bhutanese visual grammar and restraint.
The decision to let breakdancing and prayer sit in the same frame without commentary—to trust the viewer's eye instead of the voiceover—is what transforms a promising premise into something that actually breathes.