Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom

Name: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Genre: Drama, Family
Released: January 21, 2022
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Chimi Dem, Dophu, Kelden Lhamo Gurung, Oriana Chen, Pem Zam

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Ratings

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7.7

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7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: January 21, 2022 | Not Rated

Starring: Chimi Dem, Dophu, Kelden Lhamo Gurung, Oriana Chen, Pem Zam, Sangay Lham, Sherab Dorji, Tashi Dema, Tshering Dorji, Ugyen Norbu Lhendup

Summary: A disillusioned schoolteacher is transferred to the most remote school in the world, cut off from modern life deep in the Himalayan glaciers. In a classroom with no electricity or even a blackboard, he finds himself with only a yak and a song that echoes through the mountains.

Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji

Genre(s): Drama, Family

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 110 min

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Critic Reviews

Ronda Racha Penrice

Mar 24, 2022

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is more than what Ang Lee calls a “breath of fresh air”; it’s an affirmation that all films, however humble their origin, can matter and be counted. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Feb 25, 2022

“Lunana” demonstrates, as few films ever have, how inspired schooling can break through even the most abject obstacles. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Feb 23, 2022

The film invites us to imagine interior lives, a narrowing of the “pursuit of happiness” to tasks at hand, modest goals, music, food and love. As our pandemic waxes and wanes, “Lunana” becomes one of the great cinematic escapes of recent years. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Jan 21, 2022

The film is a fable, to be sure, and one that unfolds at a leisurely pace, not a tough-minded psychological drama. But it’s sharp-witted as well as soulful, reasonably suspenseful. Read full review

Richard Kuipers

Feb 8, 2022

Donji’s screenplay finds an ideal balance of gentle humor and life-affirming drama. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Isaac Feldberg

Feb 11, 2022

Gentle and lilting, "Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” moves at a hiker’s pace. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Mar 9, 2023

There is something winning in this calm, walking-pace drama – and the landscape is amazing. Read full review

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User Reviews

r96sk

Jan 7, 2023

Oh so simple, yet oh so sweet.

'Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom' is pretty wholesome, in short. There isn't anything revolutionary about the plot, there aren't any major events across the 100 or so minutes but that doesn't hamper the film at all. It's a breezy watch from beginning to end,Oh so simple, yet oh so sweet.

'Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom' is pretty wholesome, in short. There isn't anything revolutionary about the plot, there aren't any major events across the 100 or so minutes but that doesn't hamper the film at all. It's a breezy watch from beginning to end, with some good acting alongside some lovely visuals of Bhutan. Recommended!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JayMalcolm

Aug 20, 2022

This is a lovely little movie that digs deep into human nature and the costs of modernity. The scenery is breathtaking. There's a satisfying story arc with some character development over time. The female lead is a very accomplished singer whose ornamentation cannot be beaten. HighlyThis is a lovely little movie that digs deep into human nature and the costs of modernity. The scenery is breathtaking. There's a satisfying story arc with some character development over time. The female lead is a very accomplished singer whose ornamentation cannot be beaten. Highly recommended family film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Feb 13, 2022

It's always gratifying to find a little-known film that delights beyond expectations, as is the case with this Oscar-nominated offering from Bhutan. In this story of a teacher who's unhappily locked into a government contract (and who would rather relocate to Australia to pursue a singingIt's always gratifying to find a little-known film that delights beyond expectations, as is the case with this Oscar-nominated offering from Bhutan. In this story of a teacher who's unhappily locked into a government contract (and who would rather relocate to Australia to pursue a singing career), the film follows his evolutionary odyssey when his unsatisfactory performance earns him a reassignment to the remote village of Lunana, a highland native community that doesn't even have electricity. It's a prospect he loathes -- that is, until he sees joys and insights coming out of the experience that open his eyes to possibilities that he hadn't previously considered for his life and his art. Heartfelt sentiments, gorgeous cinematography, unexpected satisfaction and skillfully nuanced performances abound, despite occasional tendencies toward obvious but forgivable predictability. Director Powa Choyning Dorji's debut feature showcases the work of a promising new talent who appears poised to deliver elegant, beautiful and revitalizing work from the rooftop of the world. Looking forward to what comes next.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mauro_Lanari

Sep 3, 2022

(Mauro Lanari)
Shaken between the two opposing worlds of learning and teaching, of the gaze turned to the (primitively backward) past and the (technologically consumerist) future, between the discovery of one's local roots and the desire to build a globalized novelty, the antithetical naive(Mauro Lanari)
Shaken between the two opposing worlds of learning and teaching, of the gaze turned to the (primitively backward) past and the (technologically consumerist) future, between the discovery of one's local roots and the desire to build a globalized novelty, the antithetical naive regrets of nostalgia and melancholy, the debutant director is good at always stopping a moment before the rhetorical slip and has the humility to admit that he has no solution: an emotionality held back and exalted by the ambiguously open epilogue.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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