100
New York Post by V.A. Musetto
Delightful performances are delivered by all in this ingenious work of cinema that is worth seeing if only for its glorious views of the Himalayas.
Travellers and Magicians (ཆང་ཧུབ་ཐེངས་གཅིག་གི་འཁྲུལ་སྣང)
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Australia,
- Bhutan,
- United Kingdom
- 2003
- · 108m
Director
Khyentse Norbu
Cast
Tshewang Dendup,
Sonam Lhamo,
Dasho Adab Sangye,
Ap Dochu,
Sonam Kinga,
Dechen Dorjee
Genre
Adventure,
Drama
A young government official, named Dondup, who is smitten with America, dreams of escaping there from his small, isolated village. He misses the one bus out of town to a major city, however, and is forced to hitchhike and walk along the Lateral Road to the West, accompanied by an apple seller, a Buddhist monk with a relic, a drunk, a widowed rice paper maker, and his beautiful daughter, Sonam.
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What are critics saying?
100
Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea
Fulfills the promise of its title: It's transporting, it's magical.
80
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
A warm, embracing film of transcendent beauty and spirituality.
80
Salon by Andrew O'Hehir
It isn't going anywhere, but the journey is highly entertaining.
80
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
To watch this movie is to be moved not only by an affecting, warmly spirited yarn, but also by the wisdom that seems to waft to us directly from those snow-capped peaks.
75
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
Shangri-La is in your own backyard.
75
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Colorful, if not exciting.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Carla Meyer
Visually accomplished and loads of fun.
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
With its intricate design, sly humour and timely theme, Travellers and Magicians is a lot more than just a travelogue.
70
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Offbeat and ravishingly beautiful.
70
The New York Times by Dave Kehr
As he did in "The Cup," Mr. Norbu provides a lot of ingratiating comic moments. His Buddhism is the laughing, playful kind, and does not ask the Western audience - for whom the film is clearly intended - to deal with any uncomfortably complex religious issues.
70
L.A. Weekly by Chuck Wilson
In this lovely film, writer-director Khientse Norbu (The Cup) shifts smoothly between a kind of Buddhist "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and depicting the bonds that form among Dondup and his companions.
70
Variety by David Stratton
Although writer-director Khientse Norbu breaks no ground in unfolding two parallel stories about young men seeking fresh horizons, he creates believable characters -- and has the great benefit of living in a country that provides seldom-seen locations at the top of the world.
67
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
The (mild) intrigue of Travellers & Magicians is that its central figure, Dondup (Tshewang Dendup), rolls his eyes at Buddhist karma.
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