The Cup

Writer/director Norbu is Bhutanese and this, his first feature, is an affecting story about football and Buddhism. Shot at an Indian monastery, the film uses only monks as actors. Fearful of the Chinese regime in Tibet, a family sends its boys Palden (Nyima) and Nyima (Tshundup) to a Buddhist monastery-in-exile in the Himalayan foothills. The boys are distracted from their studies, however, by their room-mates, the football mad Orgyen (Lodro) and his sidekick Lodo (Chokling). The World Cup is on in France. The opening 20 minutes are slow, but matters picks up with the appearance of Orgyen. His single minded efforts to secure a screen on which to watch the cup final, along with his relaxed interpretation of the monastery's rules, breathe life into the story.