在这部幸福纪录片片中,1999年，不丹国王吉格梅·辛格·旺楚克发表了划时代的宣言，同意在不丹使用电视和网络，开启一个全新的现代时期。但在他的演讲中，他提醒不丹年轻人：“电视和网络里的新闻和节目内容对你的国家利弊皆有。正因为如此，我们必须谨慎而且有选择性的接触这个新的资源。” 十年以后，偏远的山村Laya仍然没有通电。当了八年的和尚，充满幻想和孤独的Peyangki 渴望这个世界能通过电视向他走近。在学习和祷告之间，他眼睁睁的看着这个世界被电线电缆包围。终于，当他跟着叔叔来到首都以后，在寻找最完美的电视带回村中的过程中，他发现了一个充满汽车，厕所和模特的世界。 汤姆斯·巴莫斯捕抓到了主人公的内在美，并且通过对环境的精彩拍摄展现了科技使古老的社会生活渐渐消逝的复杂时期。
In 1999, King Jigme Wangchuck approved the use of television and Internet throughout the largely undeveloped nation of Bhutan, assuring the masses that rapid development was synonymous with the "gross national happiness" of his country, a term he himself coined. Director Thomas Balmès's film Happiness begins at the end of this process as Laya, the last remaining village tucked away within the Himalayan kingdom, becomes enmeshed in roads, electricity, and cable television. Through the eyes of an eight-year-old monk impatient with prayer and eager to acquire a TV set, we witness the seeds of this seismic shift sprouting during a three-day journey from the outskirts of Laya to the thriving capital of Thimphu. It is here the young boy discovers cars, toilets, colorful club lights, and countless other elements of modern life for the first time.
