33/18
Amber, a happiness agent, travels through the Bhutanese Himalayas studying people’s happiness. On his journey through the remote mountains, he seeks fulfillment. I’m not sure if it should be called “Anti-Fatigue.” Not content in the sense of barely having enough, but in the sense of being truly content with one’s lot in life. That’s what Amber wants to find out as he travels the length and breadth of this small Himalayan kingdom every two years, trying to find out how its citizens feel 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 from these attitudes, to help people feel good – 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 the people around them. While their way of life in the West might be seen as quite simple, peasant and underdeveloped, their own perception of their existence high up in the mountains with its beautiful landscapes, fresh air and the blessings of their gods seems to convey that indescribable sense of achievement and less is more. Of course, not everyone is very happy, but there is clearly a lack of “crying” for change, as respect for the king and the status quo seems to permeate all demographics, shouting “It’s not broken, so don’t fix it”. There are a few characters here, some more amusing and some downright grumpy, and Amber is sometimes too busy trying to get meaningful answers to her questions to be able to extrapolate the data in a meaningful way. In a society that has not advanced technologically, it still seems possible for everyone to have access to the internet and there is a proud tradition of educating everyone to give them freedom of choice – and yet many people still feel this way, still happy when they hear this magic word. Owning cows seems to help too!