Tashi Gyeltshen's The Red Phallus is exclusively showing on MUBI in February and March, 2020 as part of the series Direct from the Berlinale.
There is more to a film than meets the eye or the ears. There are secret space and time. There are hidden lives and emotions. We are never who we are or who we portray to be. There are more questions than answers. Does the meaning of the film end at the level of the optics or the narrative?
This is what I tried in my film. Let's say, at least, I tried. Who is this man? The man who is capable of attaining enlightenment but at the same time also capable of committing inhuman, horrendous acts. How can this man who nurtures the profoundest of noble thoughts also harbor a diabolical beast inside?
An atsara (derived from the Sanskrit word acharya meaning a “holy teacher”) is an integral part of every festival in Bhutan. I have been to many festivals and received blessings from the atsaras’ phalluses (which symbolizes the genuine accomplishment of wisdom) but personally I have never known a person who played an atsara. And I have always wondered what kind of person could be there inside, behind that funny red mask and weird red costume. Are the symbolism and the sanctity of the outer shell more important than the person inside? We need to peel off the cultural shell and look at our own humanity. But we are also the victims of our own morals, ingeniously constructed morals to suit ourselves.
The mask represents us, making ourselves unknowable and unimaginable, and in the process constructing a sense of reality of our own in which we believe our shame and guilt is safely hidden.
So, in essence The Red Phallus is about the paradox of being a human. How much do we know who we are? Who is this man behind the mask? Unfortunately, we live in a time where our mask has become our identity.