22/10
Amber, a happiness agent, travels through the Bhutanese Himalayas studying people’s happiness. On his journey into the remote mountains, he seeks fulfillment. I’m not sure if this should be called «contentment agent» instead. Not content in the sense of barely having enough, but in the sense of being truly content with his lot in life. That’s what Amber is trying to find out as he travels every two years all over the country of this small Himalayan kingdom, trying to find out how the citizens think about things. Using a combination of tools, he talks to residents old and new, urban and rural, traditional and more modern – all with the goal of finding out how the population thinks and communicating that to a government that wants to listen and learn about those attitudes in order to help keep people well – mentally and physically. This documentary introduces us to a range of individuals whose goals vary widely – sometimes depending on age, ability, location, education/professional skills – but mostly you get a sense of how much they value those around them. Although their livelihood in the West might be considered rather simple, peasant and underdeveloped, their own perception of their existence high in the mountains with their beautiful scenery, fresh air and blessings from their gods seems to provide that elusive sense of fulfillment and less is more. Of course, not everyone is overjoyed, but there is clearly a lack of «clamor» for change, as respect for the king and the status quo seems to permeate all demographics, screaming «it’s not broken, so don’t fix it.» There are quite a few characters here, some more entertaining and some downright grumpy, and Amber sometimes has his hands full trying to get meaningful answers to his questions so he can extrapolate the data in a meaningful way. In a society that hasn’t really advanced technologically, it still seems possible for everyone to access the internet and there is a proud tradition of educating everyone to give them agency – and yet many people still feel happy when they hear that magic word. Owning cows also seems to help!