_________________WTN-L World Tibet Network News _________________
Published by: The Canada Tibet Committee
Editorial Board: Brian Given, Conrad Richter, Nima Dorjee,
Tseten Samdup, Thubten (Sam) Samdup
WTN Editors: wtn-editors@tibet.ca
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ISSUE ID: 00/01/30 Compiled by Tseten Samdup
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Sunday, January 30, 2000
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Contents:
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1. The Cup' Is a Rich Mix of Soccer, Life in Monastery (LAT)
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1. The Cup' Is a Rich Mix of Soccer, Life in Monastery (LAT)
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When World Cup fever hits a holy sanctuary, the resulting conflicts make
for a humorous, charming film.
By KENNETH TURAN, Times Film Critic
Los Angeles Times
January 28, 2000
What could be more surprising than "The Cup"? Not only is its country of
origin unexpected (the East Asian kingdom of Bhutan not being previously
known as a filmmaking center), so was its becoming the object of a
mini-bidding war among independent distributors after its successful debut
at the Directors Fortnight in Cannes.
Set in a Tibetan exile monastery, starring Tibetan monks and written and
directed by a man described as "one of the most important incarnate lamas
in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition," "The Cup," in fact the first feature
ever made in Bhutan, is also surprising in its subject matter. Charming,
slyly comic and far from conventionally religious, it shows what happens
when, of all things, an intense case of World Cup fever infects a holy
sanctuary.
Make no mistake, the monks in "The Cup" (filmed in Bhutan's Chokling
Monastery) are the real deal, genuine prayer-chanting, horn-blowing,
gong-sounding, big hat-wearing, butter tea-drinking individuals who have
made a decision to "take refuge in the Buddha."
Based on a true story and written and directed at a leisurely pace by
Khyentse Norbu, "The Cup" takes its time immersing viewers in the
monastery's world, allowing us to experience the slow rhythms of the
place's daily life.
Everything that happens, down to the way the monks wear their robes ("It's
a 2,500-year-old fashion," one of them cracks), is steeped in the most
ancient custom. But there is a place for playfulness as well as ritual,
because even monks engage in food fights and general horsing around when
young.
Just being a monk is different in this modern age, especially in a country
in which the modernizing influence of India is very strong. Young monks are
more worldly than their elders were at their time of life, and that creates
the kind of push-pull between tradition and modernity that is at the center
of "The Cup's" appeal.
Making the monastery an especially intriguing place is filmmaker Norbu's
genial and unforced feeling for character. Everyone in the institution,
from Geko the tireless disciplinarian to a deranged soothsayer who never
washes his hair to the wry old abbot who longs to return to Tibet but fears
it will never happen, is well defined in a way that helps fuel the story
and is appealing in its own right.
Shot in a straightforward style by Paul Warren, "The Cup" has a
neo-documentary feel that was enhanced by the way it was made. Having
written his script in English for a non-English-speaking nonprofessional
cast, Norbu briefed the actors on what they should be doing before each
scene. "Dialogue was prompted and memorized on the spot," the press notes
inform, "and most scenes were completed within three takes or less--a
testament to the actors' monastic discipline and concentration."
Lama Chonjor, the real-life abbot of Chokling Monastery, plays himself as
an otherworldy type who is especially worried about a pair of young
Tibetans who, a letter from a family member informs him, are attempting to
sneak across the border and join his religious order.
The abbot confides his worries to his major-domo, the monastery's hard-line
Geko (played by Orgyen Tobgyal, a major lama in his own right), but this
stern upholder of tradition has other things on his mind. It's 1998, the
World Cup is going on and the young monks have little else on their minds.
Most soccer-mad of all is 14-year-old Orgyen (Jamyang Lodro, Tobgyal's
real-life son). A relentless live-wire, Orgyen lives and breathes the World
Cup, but with a Tibetan twist. His favorite player is Reynaldo (whose No. 9
jersey he wears under his robes), in part because the Brazilian's head is
shaved like a monk's, and his favorite country is France because it's the
only nation to have spoken out for Tibetan rights.
A miniature hustler always looking for an angle, Orgyen will let nothing
stand in the way of his watching the Cup games, while Geko is equally
determined to uphold the monastery's discipline. What happens when this
miniature unstoppable force meets an apparently immovable object over the
Cup final is the film's charming centerpiece.
"The Cup" is not in a hurry to tell its story, but it wouldn't be effective
if it was. When the incongruity of World Cup soccer ("Two civilized nations
fighting over a ball" is how Geko bemusedly describes it to the abbot) is
joined to the incongruity of sports-crazed monks, the slow buildup creates
wonders all its own.
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2. lost son, emergency
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From: norm leroux Dear WTN readrers,
I am a Canadian looking for my nephew, John Neamtu, who is presently in
Tibet or India, we think, in a Tibetan Monastery. There has been a family
emergency and we would like to contact him. Could someone please help us?
We have not heard from John since his departure from Canada on October 15,
1999, and are very worried. He has gone to India in the past and always
sent word or called of his whereabouts.
His name is ( Canadian name ) John Neamtu, his age is 27 years, he is 2.1
meters tall and very slim. He is a Buddhist and probably studying in a
monastery somewhere inTibet or in India around the Dharamsala area maybe
the Monastery in Bir, India. I would appreciate any help you could offer.
Thank You
Norman Leroux
Contact me at: Normel@onlink.net or call collect at (705) 267-1017 or 205
Viscount Ave., Timmins, Ontario, CANADA P4R 1G2
29/01/2000 News Flash: We have received credible information that he could
be studying at the SERA JE Monastery in South India, I AM TRYING TO FIND AN
E-MAIL ADDRESS, but can not find one. if anyone knows of an e-mail address
for the Sera Monastery, it will be greatly appreciated, thank you again.
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