A FINE BOW FROM BHUTAN.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

BHUTAN, THE tiny Himalayan kingdom nestled between India and Tibet, got its first roads, written language, money and communications systems in the 1960s. And now, with ``Travellers & Magicians,'' the nation has its first feature film.

It's a fine start. Khyentse Norbu, an incarnate Buddhist lama whose first film, ``The Cup,'' was a charming if obvious comedy about exiled Tibetan monks' obsession with soccer, hits a new level of storytelling sophistication.

Essentially two movies in one, ``Travellers' '' very different stories both address the eternal questions of desire and escape.

The contemporary tale centers on Dondup (Tshewang Dendup), a long-haired village official prone to wearing I (Heart) New York T-shirts and rocking out to punk tapes. He has an opportunity to join a friend in America if he can get from the remote hamlet to a town where a major religious festival is being held. Mountain transportation being whimsical at best, Dondup ends up hitchhiking with a motley crew of pilgrims, monks and merchants, one of whom is accompanied by a comely daughter (Sonam Lhamo) who might be a good reason for Dondup to stay home.

Along the slow, winding route, a monk (Sonam Kinga) unravels a long, shaggy tale that is clearly meant to influence Dondup's decision. Set mostly in a dreamlike, mist-shrouded mountain glen, it's about another restless young man, Tashi (Lhakpa Dorji). A lazy, spoiled and indifferent magic student, Tashi is only interested in meeting girls. When a wild horse ride leaves him lost in the forest, he takes up with the much-younger wife (Deki Yangzom) of an old recluse. Things take a ``Postman Always Rings Twice'' crime-of-passion turn.

But like the outcome of Dondup's story, Tashi's is not as predictable as you may initially think.

Working with a talented but entirely amateur cast (the two male leads work for Bhutan Broadcasting - Kinga does social research, Yangzom runs a human resources department, etc.), Norbu places a wide variety of compelling characters against gorgeous natural settings. ``Travellers & Magicians'' doesn't so much pit traditional values against modern longings as acknowledge the timeless, universal human question of whether to stay in the dull, safe place you know or take a chance in a wider, scarier, potentially more rewarding world.

Surely, it represents what's on the mind of most of Bhutan's 700,000 citizens.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com

TRAVELLERS & MAGICIANS - Three stars

(Not rated: violence, sexual situations)

Starring: Tshewang Dendup, Sonam Lhamo, Lhakpa Dorji, Deki Yangzom, Sonam Kinga.

Director: Khyentse Norbu.

Running time: 1 hr. 48 min.

Playing: Nuart, West L.A.

In a nutshell: Set in Bhutan, the film tells two stories of escape, one a charmingly slow road comedy and the other a surreal, noirish tale of infidelity and murder. In Dzongkha with English subtitles.