Agent of Happiness

Happiness is something that we all search for to make our lives feel complete. However, whatever that is can mean completely different things to different people. For the government of Bhutan, this abstract concept can be quantified with a simple questionnaire and equation to get an idea of how content the country’s population is. One of the workers tasked with conducting this survey is Amber, a 40-year-old man who lives with his elderly mother and dreams about falling in love and starting a family of his own. Filmmakers Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó follow him as he travels across Bhutan to survey people from all walks of life in joyous documentary Agent of Happiness.

One of the first people Amber talks to is an elderly man in their 80s who’s perfectly content in their life wandering around the picturesque village he lives in. Other small families are likewise satisfied with their lives, grateful for the livestock they have and each other. These initial interactions seem to suggest that true happiness comes from making the most out of what you have. However, the film is quick to highlight that things are more nuanced than this.

With the survey gauging an individual’s score based on factors like how many tractors and electronic devices they have, there is a lot that this system doesn’t take into consideration. For example, despite one family scoring relatively highly, the 17-year-old daughter has been struggling with her mother’s alcoholism. Even underneath Amber’s own cheerful demeanour, his inability to marry or travel abroad with the women he cares about on account of not having citizenship is something that he wrestles with daily.

Laced with some humour and set against Bhutan’s gorgeous scenery, the filmmakers conduct their own investigation into what makes people happy. Although it’s not possible to give a singular answer to this abstract question, watching the protagonist dance on a mountaintop carefree is a closer representation of the emotion than counting how many cows someone has could ever offer.

Andrew Murray

Agent of Happiness is released in select cinemas on 12^th July 2024.

Watch the trailer for Agent of Happiness here: