Summer films: ‘Agent of Happiness’, ‘Daughters’ and ‘Kneecap’

夏季电影:《幸福代理人》、《女儿们》和《膝盖》

Monocle on Culture

社会与文化

2024-08-06

30 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

In our summer film special, we find out about three great big-screen releases. We hear about a happiness agent in the Bhutanese Himalayas in ‘Agent of Happiness’, explore the moving new Netflix film ‘Daughters’ and jump into the chaotic world of an Irish-language rapping group in ‘Kneecap’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

单集文稿 ...

  • Hello and welcome to Monocle on Culture.

  • I'm Robert Bounds.

  • Now we're rounding out our cross cultural summer series by shunning the sunshine and settling down in front of the big screen.

  • And today we're covering three cinematic releases which we think are well worth your screen time.

  • First, we'll head to the South Asian nation of Bhutan.

  • Although tiny and remote, it's got a big reputation for one key policy, that of Gross National Happiness.

  • A fascinating documentary follows workers in charge of measuring happiness across the kingdom.

  • Then Daughters is a moving new documentary on Netflix which follows four girls preparing to reunite with their imprisoned fathers through a special event at a jail in Washington D.C.

  • and finally, and with a screeching Gaelic gear shift in tone, we'll head to Ireland to jump into the chaotic world of the rabble rousing Irish language rap group necap.

  • Do stay tuned.

  • That's all coming up here on Monocle On Culture.

  • Film directors Arun Batterai, who hails from Bhutan, and Dorothea Zerbo from Hungary met while studying for master's degrees in documentary filmmaking in Europe.

  • Agent of Happiness is their second co directed documentary and it follows a Bhutanese civil servant who travels around the country surveying residents for Bhutan's Gross Nak happiness index while wrestling with his own search for happiness.

  • Monocle's Naomi Shue, Elegant, spoke to the directors to hear more about finding joy and capturing it on film.

  • I grew up studying Gross National Happiness in my classroom.

  • When I was growing up, I couldn't escape listening to gnh.

  • I was celebrating National Happiness Day.

  • I was listening to the King's speeches about Gross National Happiness.

  • That time I really didn't understand what, what Gross National Happiness meant.

  • Only when, when we actually started traveling with our previous film to festivals, we realized that everybody associates Bhutan with this very happy, happy, happy nation.