Travellers and Magicians
Seen it?2003 | 108 min | Adventure, Drama
Saturday Specialearly ratingWhy it’s a Saturday Special
It earned strong reviews (93% on Rotten Tomatoes), despite almost no lasting buzz. A strong pick for the weekend.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Best for anyone with a bit of wanderlust and anyone who likes a story with emotional weight. A good one for when you want to be swept off somewhere else. Same wavelength as Where the Wild Things Are or Into the Wild.
- The mood
- Exciting.
- The pace
- Character-first and patient, at 1 hr 48 min.
- What might put you off
- It's in another language, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
- Skip it if you need something light and fast tonight.
A young government official, named Dondup, who is smitten with America (he even has a denim gho) dreams of escaping there while stuck in a beautiful but isolated village. He hopes to connect in the U.S. with a visa out of the country. He misses the one bus out of town to Thimphu, however, and is forced to hitchhike and walk along the Lateral Road to the west, accompanied by an apple seller, a Buddhist monk with his ornate, dragon-headed dramyin, a drunk, a widowed rice paper maker, and his beautiful daughter, Sonam.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsStrong
93% on Rotten Tomatoes, 71 on Metacritic
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsWeak
1 win and 0 nominations from smaller awards and festivals
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 6K people sought it out in the past year
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Cast & crew
Directed by Khyentse Norbu
- Tshewang DendupDondup
- Sonam LhamoSonam
- Dasho Adab SangyeSonam's father
- Ap DochuAppleman
- Sonam KingaThe Monk
- Dechen DorjeeDrunk man
- Lhakpa DorjiTashi
- Deki YangzomDeki
- Gomchen PenjoreAgay
- Namgay DorjeeKarma