a story by Yasunari Kawabata about a group of travellers and an infatuation between a dancing girl and a schoolboy. The story of Tashi was inspired by a Buddhist fable about two brothers, one of whom aspires to become a magician. In making this movie, Khyentse Norbu, (also known as Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, an internationally renowned Buddhist lama), sets the standard for the nascent Bhutanese film industry. The story depicts traditional Bhutanese folklore and storytelling techniques. Travellers and Magicians is a profoundly Bhutanese film, with a theme and vocabulary that reflects the culture of Bhutan. The storytelling technique employed in the film is the one of a story within a story, as the monk narrates the story of Tashi. The nesting of worlds goes three levels deep, as Tashi hallucinates/dreams after consuming chhang. Traditional and fusion music is used, with Western rock and Western-influenced music being heard via Dondup's music system and traditional music from the dramyin of the monk and as ambient music. The noted chant music advocate David Hykes contributed music at the invitation of the director. A soundtrack of the movie has been commercially released. Since only a quarter of the people of Bhutan have the mother tongue of Dzongkha, one of the cast members — Sonam Kinga — acted as dialog coach to the cast. Production In keeping with the production of Norbu's previous movie The Cup, no professional actors (save Dendup: a radio actor) were used. Auditions were held to select the cast from all walks of life including farmers, schoolchildren, and employees of the Bhutan Broadcasting Service, Government of Bhutan, and the Royal Bodyguard. Many production decisions, including casting and fixing the date of release, were chosen using Mo — an ancient method of divination. Release and reception Box office According to Box Office Mojo, the film was in release for 28 weeks and its total lifetime grosses were $668,639. Critical reception Travellers and Magicians received positive reviews from critics. Variety film critic David Stratton praised the "natural and unaffected" acting by the film's cast. Salon'''s Andrew O'Hehir gave the film a positive review and wrote that "[Travellers and Magicians] won't rock your cinematic sense of self, I guess, but it's a smart, winsome and often beautiful little picture; I didn't want it to end". Dessen Thompson, writing for The Washington Post, praised the film as "deeply enchanting". In his review of the