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And now.... the winner of the Hidden Gem award! Each year, I grant this award to a film that I hadn't really heard of before it was nominated for an Oscar, and then it quickly became one of my favorite movies of the year. Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom represents the first ever Oscars nomination for the tiny country of Bhutan.
A teacher in Bhutan is assigned to teach in the most remote school in the country. Total population of the village is about 50, and the school is located in Lunana, which is an 8 day hike on foot. In Lunana, there is no electricity, no wifi, not even a blackboard, but there is a batch of unbelievably eager students with a real thirst to learn, and a village of very grateful and welcoming farmers who want to treat this teacher like royalty. Though the teacher is grumpy at first, the people and especially the children of the village so endear themselves to him that he can't resist falling in love with the community, and perhaps the more stereotypical trope of "I learned more from them than they learned from me" is present in this film.
Is the movie the most original and unique plot ever? No, we've seen versions of this film before. But I shed few tears at how touching this movie was, and it really got me. The actual non-actor villagers starred in this film, and you can't help but falling in love with them, and even with the teacher. I'm an evangelist for this movie because it was such a lovely delight. I can't recommend it enough and though the movie has no chance of winning the Oscar in this category, I'm so grateful to the Academy for amplifying it with a nomination. Truly a heartwarming and wonderful film.
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