Sing Me a Song

Early in Thomas Balmès’ Sing Me a Song, it appears that the documentary will be yet another one about a child monk, doing what he can to fulfill his potential at a monastery.

The leisurely paced introduction to seven-year-old, possibly reincarnated llama Peyangki — a subject in Balmès’ acclaimed Happiness — getting his religious bearings in the mountains of Bhutan suggests as much, but then the director jumps ahead eight years and the film becomes something far more intriguing.

Over that time, the monastery has had wi-fi installed and seemingly all of the monks-in-training have smart phones, which they can barely put down — even during religious ceremonies. Watching the young robed men engage in violent video games and later play with pellet guns, it’s difficult not to be shocked at this fascinating intersection of rugged traditionalism and modern technology.

Questions quickly arise regarding the ramifications of decidedly Western ideals being transmitted to such an isolated, preserved culture, and reach a boiling point when Peyangki uses a video chat app and develops a crush on fellow teen Ugyah, who lives in the capital city of Thimphu.

Balmès’ observational filmmaking chronicles the youths’ simple yet jarring relationship, and he’s able to get almost unnaturally close to both in uncomfortably vulnerable moments. Considering the rugged setting, his cinematography is surprisingly well-lit and multiple uses of reverse tracking shots add unexpected flair to the largely reserved subject matter (and subjects, whose culture discourages prolonged eye contact).

The sharp imagery is further enlivened by Nicolas Rabaeus’ Philip Glass-like score, and the insertion of smartphone video footage poetically fills in major narrative gaps that would have been frustrating if left ambiguous.

But ultimately, it’s clips of Peyangki as an innocent, idealistic child that prove most impactful, conveying the extent to which technology has changed his life and the even more difficult path that lies ahead.

Grade: B. Not rated, but with adult themes. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes, and other streaming services.

(Photo: Gravitas Ventures)