The Monk and the Gun

The Monk and the Gun (2023) is a gentle satire from Bhutan you can watch online on iFILM. The year is 2006, and the remote Himalayan kingdom is the last country on earth to switch on television, right as it prepares for its first-ever democratic vote.

To show people how elections work, officials stage a practice round — and discover that many locals feel more unsettled than thrilled by the whole idea. Meanwhile an elderly lama quietly asks a young monk to bring him two guns by the full moon. On the same mountain roads, an American collector (Harry Einhorn) is chasing a rare Civil War-era rifle worth a small fortune. The three threads drift toward one small village.

Director Pawo Choyning Dorji (Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom) never reaches for cheap mockery; his Bhutan is calm, wry, and a little wistful about what modern life drags in behind it. The film carried the country to the Oscars and landed on the Best International Feature shortlist. Quiet, disarming, and a balm if loud dramas have worn you down — stream The Monk and the Gun (2023) on iFILM.