What does it take to be happy? Filmmakers Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó ravel to the Bhutan, the so-called “happiest country in the world,” to find out. Bhattarai and Zurbó's entry to Sundance Film Festival's World Cinema – Documentary Competition, they tag along Amber Kumar Gurung, one of the government-employed “happiness agents,” on his quest to measure the Gross National Happiness level. Amber and his colleague, Gunaraj Kuikel, interview a wide variety of civilians: married and unmarried, young and old, rural and urban – asking them a smattering of questions from the 148 on the survey.
Early on, we learn that the survey is not as clear-cut as we might imagine. While Amber and Gunaraj may ask about how many cows, goats, or tractors one has on-hand, more discussion is required to draw out individual stories. As people answer – some out of obligation, some to show off, and some vulnerably confessing to issues at home – Amber eventually boils down the scores to a single number from 0 to 10. One haughty man with three wives scores as a 10. A teenage girl with an alcoholic mother scores a 4. In between, we witness a slew of other nuanced stories, including that of Dechen, a transgender bar dancer; a widower still in mourning; and then Amber himself, a 40-something, disenfranchised Nepali looking for love. Regardless of gender, class, or location, the all-too-human question, “Are you happy?” seems to be universally complicated.
In their trek through the Buddhist kingdom, Bhattarai and Zurbó do their utmost to show the full range of Bhutan. They begin with recognizable, sweeping vistas of the Himalayas and temples in the springtime, but, by the same token, they include snippets from modern urban life, like cafes and busy streets. Through Amber, they also are granted access to a variety of home interiors. This allows the interviewees the space to confide in Amber behind-the-camera, delivering a sense of raw drama lining Amber's interviews.
There is a note of amusement here, too, something of which audiences caught on to during the film's world premiere at the Egyptian Theater in Park City. Small obstacles, like a boulder in the road, throws just a temporary wrench into their plans. Amber's finalized happiness scores, too – which appear on-screen with the completion of each interview with the families – also seem tongue-in-cheek, reflecting less about the interviewee than the ways in which it was processed according to the survey. These moments provide some relief to some of the abysmal straits described, particularly by the woman subjects in the film. Three wives share how they were married off against their will, due to an impoverished economic situation in the parents' homes; Sarita Chhetri, Amber's love interest, dreams about traveling to Australia. Most heart-wrenching is perhaps one teenage girl bemoaning why “such a sad soul like [her]self should be born in this happy land,” as she imagines alternative lives she could live through TikTok.
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Like any decent documentary, then, “Agent of Happiness” is less instructive than it is revealing. The film raises more questions than it does answers. What does it really mean to be happy, beyond a few possessions and belief in karma? How much of it is truly internal rather than dependent on one's surroundings, or one's systemic realm of possibility? The quest for contentment is a tricky one, especially in a world laden with desire. While the film is not particularly grand in any manner, it is sure to at least provoke some introspection.
“Agent of Happiness” premiered as a part of the World Cinema – Documentary competition at Sundance Film Festival, world rights are managed by Cinephil. The film will have its theatrical release in May 2, 2024.
