Not since that brief Australian mania sparked by Crocodile Dundee has North America fallen so head over heels in love with a foreign culture.
OUT: Foster's lager, kangaroos, Paul Hogan and putting shrimps on barbies.
IN: Anything to do with Tibet.
It's not just Richard Gere any more. We can't seem to get enough of Tibet - the throat singing, the breathtaking Himalayan vistas, the prayer wheels, the orange robes, the cool metal drums and all those Buddhist monks, so wise, so serene and so gentle. No Dalai Lama brand beer yet, but don't be surprised. Our interest in a culture so removed from our own is infused with compassion and political outrage, because many Tibetans have been in exile since their country was invaded by China in the '50s.
If you've attended the provincial museum's Tibetan exhibit at least once and plan to go again, you'll probably love The Cup, a tale of Buddhist soccer fans opening today at the Garneau Theatre. Other than being a slow-moving slice of life in a real Tibetan monastery, the film doesn't have much going for it.
Inspired by a true story, this is billed as the first Tibetan feature film, written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, an actual lama trained in the Buddhist tradition. He grew up in a monastery and his cast of untrained actors are mostly members of the Chokling Tibetan Monastery in India, where filming took place, so The Cup is naturally more authentic than if Hollywood had attempted it.
The story, however, could've come straight from The Wonderful World of Disney: Orgyen, a 14-year-old monk-in-training more interested in football than religion, wants to watch the World Cup Final. Standing in his way are the strict headmaster Geko and the venerable, homesick Abbot, who must have the game explained to him: "Two civilized nations fighting over a ball." The fact there's so much fuss over winning a mere "cup" seems to appeal to his inscrutable wisdom, so the Abbot grants permission.
A mad rush ensues as Orgyen rallies the students to collect enough rupees to rent a satellite dish and an old TV. A new boy, recently exiled from Tibet, allows a precious watch his mother gave him to be pawned, providing one of the few real conflicts in the film. Of course, everything works out in the end.
From a scene of boys playing soccer with a Coke can to a comedy of errors over setting up the dish, culture clash is one of the more entertaining aspects of The Cup. As Orgyen tells his pals, "I hear everything in America is made of rubber, including faces and breasts."
Equal parts gentle humour and Buddhist philosophy - making only a small connection between soccer and religion - The Cup is a simple, charming film that's suitable for the whole family. But unless you're entertained by an exploration of Tibetan culture on its own, it might prove to be a dull experience.
(This film is rated PG)
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