Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó’s second collaboration leans on the Bhutanese government philosophy and their survey collecting agents to investigate how happy the people of Bhutan perceive themselves to be.
Gross National Happiness was declared as more important than Gross Domestic Product in Bhutan as early as 1972. It’s a philosophy that holds to this day and promotes a holistic approach to perceived wealth including environmental conservation, preservation and promotion of culture and good governance with a focus on psychological well-being, health and living standards among others. In Agent of Happiness, directed by Arun Bhattarai (Bhutan) and Dorottya Zurbó (Hungary), we get to accompany Amber and his colleague Guna as they travel across the country in order to collect survey reports on people’s happiness.
This is a bitter-sweet ride as the breathtaking landscapes open up across the screen. Bhutan is a feast for the eyes and the viewer can only imagine what a joy it is for all the senses. In rural areas, Amber and Guna learn that the villagers feel content and satisfied. A young woman says she enjoys the development that she sees in her village because she can now walk among the houses. Another claims that only real happiness can be found in the village and not in towns and schools they had to attend.
An older man hangs prayer flags for his deceased wife. Although he is generally happy, he expresses regret for the loss of his wife. “I wanted to spend days chanting mantras until we grew old,” he says softly as the wind rips through the hanging flags. His is a peaceful story entwined with penance and acceptance.
Quite the opposite to a self-satisfied wealthy man with multiple wives. His proclaimed happiness level is 10 – welcomed with sneering laughter from the audience. While his satisfaction is a product of permeating vanity, his wives tell a different story. A reality in which they depend on him for their survival, while he uses them as trophies that showcase his generosity.
Another anomaly in the equation of happiness is a young woman who lives with a mother who is an alcoholic. “I wonder why such a sad soul as myself was born in such a happy land,” she ponders. It is heartbreaking to see the juxtaposition of her difficult life with her perception of how wonderful her country is.
No one is more aware of the contrasts than the eponymous agent of happiness himself. Amber is respectful and self-effacing which seems to ease his interviewees into answering the 148 questions of the happiness survey. In his own time he cares for his ailing mother whose only wish is for him to find a wife. But happiness, after all, isn’t such a simple prospect for him.
The directors foreshadow the more unsettling reasons behind introducing the Gross National Happiness with subtlety. Amber seemingly spontaneously stops to talk to road workers who express their concern about their future because of issues with their citizenship. It later transpires that Amber himself is trapped in the same no man’s land because he is Nepalese. This prevents him from getting a steady job and a longterm girlfriend and makes his overall existence precarious.
Unsurprisingly, happiness seems as elusive state of being in Bhutan as it does in the rest of the world. And just like in the rest of the world, words of one of the interviewees feel inevitable: “No matter what pain you carry, you need to learn to be happy.” After witnessing the inspiring beauties of Bhutan and the intimate stories of its people, perhaps that is the only right conclusion.
Agent of Happiness premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and is currently presented in the Happy DOX strand of ZagrebDox 2024 – Zagreb International Documentary Film Festival, taking place at the Kaptol Boutique Cinema in Zagreb, Croatia.
