'Happiness' by Thomas Balmes

'Happiness' was our first screening of Sheffield DocFest, held at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield Centre. It was, if nothing more, the wettest screening of all the films we saw this weekend as we endured the sharing of a singular umbrella between two of us as the heavens truly opened. However, to say that the rain was the film's most notable attribute would be a complete misrepresentation. It is testament to the film that despite the constant heavy rain for its 80min duration, there were still those who sat to admire its cinematography and aura of tranquility.

Perhaps the Peace Gardens were the perfect setting for the film. Although, I do feel as though I did not feel the full benefit of the voices within the film as it wasn’t always possible to hear them. Good job I had the subtitles to help me out. I just felt I would be granted a better insight into our protagonist’s life and his sometimes-hard-to-read expressions if given the opportunity to hear the intonation in his voice.


That aside, we were presented with some stunning scenery and a reality check that saw our role as audience drift away into a wishful contentment and a lust for mountain living. I was transported to a world where the hopes for the future lay in the arrival of television. Wouldn't that be nice.

We follow our 8yr old friend Peyangki whose father passed away when he was young. With his mother rearing yaks and struggling to keep the family afloat, she decides it is best for him to join the local monastery. We see a very lonely life for him with only one other young boy for company. We almost will him to rebel, as he runs down the road to play archery with the kids at the local primary school - against the lama's wishes.



The best thing about happiness for me, were the subtle indications of childhood that found their way into an otherwise quickly matured 8yr old Pelangki. The moment where he tries to scare the sweeper girl by wearing the mask, the moment when he runs through the mountain paths like a bird and clambers over the roofs of the huts in the village. And best of all, the inquisitive excitement that comes with his trip to the city - accompanied by a rather violent case of travel sickness due to the excitement of travelling in a car!

It was almost as though Pelangki's eyes open wider for the first time, as he excitably paced through the city questioning whether mannequins were in fact real people. I adored the scene where he asked his uncle about the drunk man in the street with crutches. He was so fascinated by the crutches it was hard not to crack a smile. I also loved the hint of a smile that came when he discovered his sister working as a club dancer - quickly replaced by great emotional intelligence in lying to his mother and agreeing that she works in an office in the post department.

The score was perfect and equipped the film with a light-hearted comic tone that charmed us all. I particularly laughed when the music fell silent as Pelangki fell over on the roof. We all knew it was going to happen but the music made it less of a heart-stopping moment and more of a heart-warming one. Beautiful cinematography meant we couldn't help but stick around in the pouring rain to admire it.

'Happiness' was an intimate look at an otherwise very separate community and I would be interested to know how filmmaker Thomas Balmes got access to them. I'm so happy he did; the finished production was a charming portrayal of life in the Bhutanese mountains with a heart-warming sense of childhood innocence that made me want to up and run right there in the Peace Gardens.

'Happiness' is still available via the videotheque platform. I know I'll be watching it again, you should too!

Http://videotheque.sheffdocfest.com

ALL IMAGE RIGHTS RESERVED BY THOMAS BALMES