The Monk and the Gun

The Monk and the Gun is a Bhutanese 2023 film about an American who travels into Bhutan in search of a valuable antique rifle and crosses paths with a young monk who wanders through the serene mountains, instructed by his teacher to make things right again. This movie is set in Bhutan when it was turning into democracy and has received worldwide acclaim.

Warning! This page contains spoilers!
The following weapons were used in the film The Monk and the Gun:

Snider-Enfield Rifle

The movie focuses on a Snider Enfield rifle which is an American Civil War rifle that is ‘rare’ and has somehow ended up in the small remote village of Ura, Bumthang in Bhutan. (note, the owner says that the gun killed many Tibetans during the Tibetan Invasions of Bhutan in the 17th century. This is a technical error as the Snider Enfield only came into existence during the 19th century. An appropriate replacement would be a Matchlock Musket.]

Snider-Enfield Mk.II** Infantry Rifle - .577 Snider

The owner of the Snider Enfield shows the gun to the American, Ron Coleman (Harry Einhorn

Ron holds the Snider Enfield

In a shocking twist, the gun owner then hands the Snider Enfield to the monk, Tashi(Tandin Wangchuk)

Tashi holds the Snider Enfield while in a car. (Note, for those wondering about the image’s captions, the lady in the front had asked if Tashi had heard of elections and this was Tashi’s reply)

Ron and Benji(Tandin Sonam) catch up to Tashi to ask for the Enfield.

Tashi’s teacher aims the Snider Enfield during a ceremony.

The Snider in a hole during the same ceremony

AKM

Benji and Ron become desperate and end up offering two AKMs with folding stocks in exchange for the Snider Enfield. Later, when facing arrest, Benji says that the guns are actually an offering.(Note, the movie and actors call it the generic name of AK47)

AKM - 7.62x39mm

The policeman takes the AKMs out of the bag.

The policeman looks in awe at the AKMs while a nervous Benji watchs

Tashi carries the AKMs to the ceremony site with Ron, Benji and the Policemen behind him.

After telling the crowd about how Ron was ‘Donating’ the AKMs, Tashi hands the guns to Ron and asked him to throw them in as well.

After deciding whether to go to jail or throw the guns in, he chooses the latter…

Here we can see both of the AKMs and a Glock

Glock 19

The policeman carries a Glock 19, identifiable by the shorter barrel.

Glock 19(3rd Generation) 9x19mm

The policeman shows Benji’s wife his holstered Glock 19 when she asked him, ‘Do we even have guns in Bhutan?’