The Next Guardian (2017)

About twenty minutes into The Next Guardian, I genuinely had to pause and ask myself: is this a documentary, or is it a drama? The family felt too real, the moments too unscripted, the dad's sighs too perfectly weary. I still wasn't entirely sure by the time the credits rolled, and I mean that as something close to a compliment. Whatever it is, it works in a quiet, unassuming way that crept up on me more than I expected.

This is Bhutan's entry on my A-Z World Movie Tour, and I'll be honest, it's not a country whose cinema I know anything about. The Next Guardian follows two siblings, Gyembo and Tashi, caught between what their father expects of them and what they actually want for themselves. Gyembo is being groomed to become a monk, continuing a family tradition, but he'd rather stay in school, keep his phone and live something resembling a normal teenage life. Tashi, meanwhile, has football on the brain, proper football, not kicking a ball around as a hobby, but as a dream. Their dad's not exactly encouraging about either rebellion. It's a story I recognised immediately, not because I know anything about Bhutanese monastery life, but because I've got kids of my own who'll argue the toss over screen time while I'm stood there muttering about priorities. The specifics are different. The feeling is universal.

The setting does a lot of heavy lifting here, and I don't mean that as a dig. Bhutan's Himalayan villages are filmed with a real warmth and intimacy. You get the sense that the camera is a guest rather than an intruder, never imposing on the family's rhythms, just observing. There are moments where the landscape alone is worth the watch, pine forests, monastery walls, the particular quality of light at altitude. It reminded me a little of Island Soldier in the way it uses place as more than backdrop, the geography feels like it's shaping everything the characters do and feel.

What I liked most was the sibling relationship. Gyembo and Tashi bicker and bond in ways that ring completely true, the teasing, the shared eye-rolls at their dad, the moments of genuine solidarity when the pressure gets heavy. There's no villain here. The father isn't cruel, he's just carrying the weight of tradition and doing his best with it. The film doesn't ask you to condemn him, and that's to its credit. It handles gender roles and cultural expectations with a light touch, never getting on a soapbox, just laying things out and letting you sit with them.

Now, the pacing. I want to be straight with you: this film meanders. If you need narrative momentum and plot mechanics to stay engaged, you'll find yourself drifting. This is very much a hangout film, a slow-burn slice-of-life where the drama is built from small moments rather than big confrontations. A parent's silence. A phone left on charge. A football kicked into a field at dusk. Some viewers will find that meditative. Others will find it frustrating. I was somewhere in the middle, appreciating the restraint while occasionally wishing it had pushed a little harder.

I also wanted more on the cultural texture. Bhutan has this fascinating national philosophy around happiness as a collective priority, something genuinely unusual in the modern world, and the film gestures at it without ever really digging in. As an outsider, I felt I was getting a beautiful glimpse through a window rather than an invitation inside. That's not a fatal flaw, but it left me slightly hungry for something the film wasn't quite willing to give.

Still, I'm glad I watched it. There's a sincerity to The Next Guardian that you can't manufacture, a real affection for these people and this place that comes through in every unhurried frame. If you've got any fondness for films like Next Goal Wins where football dreams collide with real-world complications, or if you just enjoy films that trust you to find meaning in the quiet spaces, this is worth your time.

Three stars. Gentle, sincere, and occasionally gorgeous. Don't expect it to rush, and it'll reward you.

Rating: ★★★  | Year: 2017  | Watched: 2025-05-30

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