(I wonder who the Dalai Lama is betting on to win the World Cup?)
CAST: Orgyen Tobgyal, Jamyang Lodro, Neten Chokling, Lama Chonjor, Kunsang Nyima, Pem Tshundup, Lama Godhi.
DIRECTOR: Khyentse Norbu.
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and the most unexpected (and unlikely) soccer fans straight ahead…
We American soccer fans are spoiled. It cannot be denied. Whenever World Cup time rolls around, all we have to do is park our happy asses in front of the telly and absorb the best matches of the best game in the world. Or, better yet, at the local bar with our buddies for maximum electricity. And if the matches play during the work hours, we can always record it for viewing later - or just take the day off. Trust me - if there was ever a good reason to take the day off, it’s watching the World Cup.
The point is not everyone has it as easy as us when it comes to being able to witness the greatest event (every four years, anyway) of arguably the greatest sport in history. Proof of that lies in our latest review, the wonderful 1999 Bhutanese movie THE CUP, which revolves around the “football fever” that grips of a group of monks in an isolated Tibetan exile monastery in the mountains of Northern India.
It’s World Cup 1998 time, and every night, several monks sneak out of the monastery and scurry to a nearby village to join the locals in watching the matches. See, the monastery doesn’t have a television, which poses a problem for keeping up with the matches. This clandestine group of soccer-crazy monks is led by the young Orygen (Jamyang Lodro), a spunky monk-in-training whose love of the sport is matched only be determined resourcefulness.
These nightly soccer sojourns come to an end when the monastery’s stern second-in-command, Geko (Orygen Tobygal), catches Orygen and his cronies sneaking back one evening. As punishment, they are ordered to handle cooking duties for the entire place for three months. And if they are caught sneaking away to watch soccer again, they will be banished from the monastery for good.
This poses a problem for Orygen, as he lives, eats, breathes, and sweats football. And the finals are that evening. Unless he comes up with a daring plan, he and his fellow monks will not see it. Sure enough, Orygen comes up with one - which involves begging Geko to let them rent a small black-and-white TV and satellite dish to set up in one of the monastery’s rooms - so that the entire monastery can partake in the singular pleasure of the World Cup finals.
Will Geko go for it? Or will he convince the monastery’s head abbott that soccer is corrupting the young monks? Is the head abbott himself a soccer fan? And even if they allow it, will Orygen be able to collect enough money from the monks to be able to rent a TV? Will the thing even work? Will it conk out at the crucial moment? Like during a crucial shot during the final match between France and Brazil? If so, will the monks go apeshit, forget their peaceful avocation, and beat the crap out of each other like proper English football fans?
Hard to say. What I do know is this: I will never ever again take for granted my easy access to a bar with a television.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I had a hard time getting through THE CUP. I kept falling asleep. This isn’t to say it’s a boring film. As you folks already know, I bestowed upon it a **** (very good) rating. It is a wonderful, unforgettable film. Why then did I keep nodding off?
Well, the film is filmed in an actual Tibetan monastery and the characters are not played by actors, but by real-life monks. It’s also based on true events. The result is an authentic feel that is surreal, soothing, calming, and hypnotic. The mellow atmosphere created by the combo of real setting and genuine monks is enough to lull anyone to sleep. None of it was boring. The very opposite, in fact. Director Khyentse Norbu captures the rhythms of this place so effectively and magically that you fall under its spell. I hope this makes sense…
What’s great about THE CUP though is that it’s really more than just soccer/football. It’s also about the simple pleasures in life, and how we should be grateful for everything we have. The monks in the monastery are under exile from the Chinese-inflicted conflicts in their home of Tibet. Displaced, these men are thrown together to form an unexpected community - or family - and must live simple lives. Which makes their passion for soccer all that more compelling
And soccer is just one of the many ways that they find to celebrate their connections to one another. Watching this impromptu family of exiles work and pray together is a pleasure to watch. But it is in soccer that they unite the strongest. Orygen’s irrepressible vivacity in trying to talk Geko into legitimizing this celebration by renting the TV - instead of forcing them to sneak into town for nightly visits - is what finally brings them together as one for real.
Like a lot of hidden gems, THE CUP derives great mileage from the smallest of pleasures. There are no explosions, no car chases, no dazzling special effects here. Just a group of men in one of the most isolated places on Earth who affirm our shared humanity by taking a great interest in something that people all over the world - in both urban and rural areas - are similary invested in: the great sport of soccer.
THE CUP is an undiscovered treasure. Find it now…
