By Bhutan is one of the most fascinating countries in the world. With a culture defined by its two neighboring countries and a focus on public happiness over gross profit, it’s become this mystical haven that feels steeped in historical reverence while also being on the edge of modernity. What adds to that mysticism is that Bhutan’s borders weren’t open to the public until 1974, meaning it had existed for centuries with no Western influences at all. Bhutan has rightfully earned its nickname of “The Last Shangri-La.”
Surprisingly, I, The Song is not the first Bhutanese film I’ve ever seen. I learned of the country years ago when watching the movie Travelers and Magicians. Filmed in 2003, that movie was about the people of Bhutan reconciling with its outdated existence and working towards entering the 21st century as a modern civilization. I, The Song does handle similar topics, but most of the story is based on traditional Bhutanese folklore that likely won’t make sense to outsiders.
Even without knowing the cultural specifics at play here, I did still find I, The Song to be a rather engaging watch. Even if this is a distinctly East Asia story, it does hit on topics that are relatable to the global populace.
I, The Song
Director: Dechen Roder
Release Date: April 18, 2025 (Bhutan), July 14, 2025 (NYAFF)
Country: Bhutan
There isn’t much information available about I, The Song online, so I can’t quite fill in some of the cultural gaps here. A description on the New York Asian Film Festival’s website maybe gives away a bit too much, so I’ll summarize it as best as I can. The story follows the plight of Nima (Tandin Bidha), a schoolteacher who loses her job at the beginning of the film due to a viral sex video featuring a woman who looks like her. Because Bhutan is such a small country (the population is reported to be around 700,000), almost everyone has seen this tawdry tape, and her school’s board of directors believes she is unfit to be around children. The thing is, Nima swears that isn’t her in the video and she is determined to prove it to everyone.
From there, the film eschews traditional storytelling techniques to present a more cerebral and meditative journey. Nima’s struggle isn’t so much told in distinct chapters as it is in fits and stops. After obsessing over the video for a bit, much to the dismay of her boyfriend, Nima notices a matchbook with an address on it and decides to start there. This takes her to a remote part of Bhutan that is much less modernized than the area she’s from. In a way, it’s like stepping back into the past, which is a theme that I, The Song wants you to have on your mind.
Nima learns that this other woman was named Meto (also played by Tandin Bidha in a dual role). Meto was like any other country bumpkin in that she came from an impoverished upbringing and was doing her best to make ends meet. She worked various different jobs and was involved with a singer/songwriter named Tandin (Jimmy Wangyal Tshering), who Nima comes in contact with. Having no one else to turn to, Nima interrogates Tandin about Meta to figure out if she can speak with her. Tandin stresses that what other people think shouldn’t matter, and it’s clear that I, The Song is sending the message that one needs to live for themselves instead of others. It doesn’t quite work with the inciting incident, but it’s still sound advice.
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In what I believe is the film’s official website, director Dechen Roder explains how Bhutan’s cultural identity has been in a transient state ever since the 60s. She writes how back then; there weren’t roads and most people didn’t have a formal education. Her mother even walked 12 days through the forests of Bhutan to attend school in India. Bhutan didn’t even have broadcast television or the internet until 1999. “We jumped straight from a strong oral culture to a visual culture of TV, films and digital media. We didn’t pause to think in between,” Roder says.
While I, The Song doesn’t explicitly talk about that, it’s very clear that Nima represents something of the traditional while Meto is more modern. The sex tape that binds the two together is almost like a bridging of gaps between different generations. While people in the USA are likely familiar with all manner of Hollywood sex tape scandals and how they have fundamentally altered the public perception of celebrity, this type of thing doesn’t happen in Bhutan. It’s likely more common now, but going from 0 to 1 doesn’t make it especially recurring. Nima, therefore, feels as if her world has ended and she doesn’t know how to handle that.
In her question for answers, though, Nima is met with old school explanations and rhetoric. There was a particular moment in the film where I saw my Western sensibilities clashing with what I, The Song was showing me. Nima was able to travel to a specific part of the country, but didn’t know where a certain hotel was. I sat there going, “Just Google the damn thing,” before realizing that isn’t a common answer here. Bhutan isn’t a backwater type of place, but its people are not privy to having answers right at your fingertips.
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That same goes for her investigation into Meto. When talking with Tandin, he likes to regale her with songs, but he doesn’t have answers either. As he says to her at one point, “Meto is just a song to me now.” While I’m sure he could buy a modern smartphone and join Instagram or something, Bhutan is a country still clinging to its traditional cultural. It’s shocking how few modern conveniences are even here, as the camera will show you quite often. Nima is walking streets that look as if they are in the late 1800s, even if electricity is widespread.
More than that, though, I, The Song is about one’s own identity and their relationship to the world around them. In her conversations with other citizens, everyone mistakes Nima for Meto at first glance. While most people claim she is Meto putting on an act, Tandin takes the time to actually learn who Nima is and knows she isn’t the same person. Meto had a specific way of carrying herself and even had specific markings on her body that Nima simply doesn’t. At the same time, would it be so bad if Nima were Meto? Is there something wrong with what Meto has done that drives Nima so incessantly to proclaim she’s different?
Where I think I, The Song does lose me a little is not with how culturally specific it is, but with its attempts at linking Nima’s journey through a secondary story. Towards the midpoint, Nima goes to Meto’s home and is introduced to Meto’s grandmother. I guess Meto was on a journey to discover some song that holds religious sanctity, and while you’d think the grandmother could just play it on the radio, it plays into how Bhutan cherishes its culture. Anyway, this plot thread seemingly indicates that Meto has actually gone missing, but the film cuts between instances of Nima and Meto being the in same place at different times that doesn’t quite add up.
© Dakinny Productions
The biggest discrepancy is that Meto, supposedly, disappeared five years prior. Even if we accept that Bhutan still isn’t up on modern technology, why was the sex tape not released at an earlier point? I won’t get into the specifics of why the tape exists as that does constitute a spoiler, but the planning doesn’t add up to the events we see unfold. There’s an incongruity with I, The Song’s own story that eats away at the center.
Still, that doesn’t seem to be the main point of this film. I, The Song really is a journey through existence told with traditional Bhutanese songs (called Dzongkha) that puts an emphasis on mood and atmosphere above coherency. Maybe that’s because the plot isn’t the strongest, but I also dig the vibes on display. There is some beautiful cinematography with some sequences bathed in practically a single color. You can also notice different tints for when the film is presenting Nima’s perspective and Meto’s, which signals a deeper connection between the two.
The performances are also very natural, with Tandin Bidha being a standout. It’s never easy to present two completely different characters within the same narrative, but she manages to give Nima and Meto subtle differences that speak volumes. There isn’t too much dialogue throughout, but the way each character moves and reacts gives layers of impression to dig through. In some ways, I feel I, The Song is comparable to Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Millennium Mambo, just that it doesn’t feature early adult ennui. Both films handle the complex changes that come from generational shifts, however.
© Dakinny Productions
With more time and knowledge of Bhutan, I do think that I, The Song will become something I gravitate towards in the future. It’s certainly not a perfect film, but I’m likely overlooking a key political talking point that I simply do not know. I guess you can say I’m like everyone else, confusing Nima for Meto. Without knowing the subtleties of each person, I just confuse them for being the same messy individual.
