Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom  4 ½ stars

In an Academy Awards first, a movie from the mountainous country of Bhutan was nominated for an Academy Award in the Foreign Language category. Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom takes a familiar theme of a new teacher assigned to a class of poor students and gives it a new take, with a setting in the Asian village of Lunana, a real village in Bhutan that must be one of the most isolated spots in the world. Ugyen is a young man who is fulfilling his government contract as an elementary school teacher who really wants to move to Australia and perform as a singer. His boss remarks that he is the most unmotivated teacher she has ever seen so gives him the assignment to serve one term as teacher in the remote mountain village of Lunana where a post is available. Ugyen, who likes to listen to music on his iPod most of the time has no choice but to make the journey to Lunana, a trip of six days on foot through the mountains accompanied by two guides and three horses. When he finally arrives he is greeted by the village elder Asha who has great respect for teachers who “touch the future”, along with most of the village and the children who are to be his students. Lunana is without running water, has only solar panels for electricity and the main source of heat is burning yak dung because paper is too valuable to burn. Ugyen undergoes something of a transformation from thinking of teaching as an annoyance to seeing its value and having a sense of purpose when seeing the enthusiasm of the students even amid such conditions. He also learns more of the local culture by hearing the music dedicated to the life of a yak herder. The audience feels the transformation going on as Ugyen’s experience progresses. The movie’s premise may sound like a cliché, but it is moving especially since all of the cast has never acted before. The real life residents in the village had never even seen a car or a camera before. The movie’s film crew had to manage in the remote location for a three month shooting schedule as well as make the long journey on foot. I will leave it to you to discover what Ugyen decides to do at the end of the movie.