| Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache | |
| Director: | Khyentse Norbu |
| Music: | Mars Radio |
| Cinematography: | Mark Lee Ping-bing |
| Editing: | Yu Tao |
| Distributor: | Abramorama |
| Runtime: | 113 minutes |
| Country: | Nepal |
Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache is a 2019 Nepalese mystery drama film written and directed by Khyentse Norbu and starring amateur actor Tsering Tashi Gyalthang in the lead role. The film premiered at the 2019 Morelia International Film Festival.[1]
While preparing to convert an abandoned Temple into a premier cafe, Nepalese entrepreneur Tenzin is warned by an elderly monk that he will soon die, unless he finds a particular dakini that has fangs and a moustache.
The film was written and directed by Khyentse Norbu, who wanted to "explore some of the last genuine residues of Tibetan mysticism".[2] Max Dipesh Khatri and Rabindra Singh Baniya served as the film's producers, while Zhuangzhuang Tian, Olivia Harrison, Ram Raju, Aona Liu, and Kate McCreery were credited as executive producers.[3] Norbu worked exclusively with non-professional actors,[2] and filming took place in Kathmandu.[3]
Abramorama secured the distribution rights to Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache.[3] The film had its "virtual live premiere" on April 8, 2021, at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City.[2]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews.[4] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating in the 0–100 range based on reviews from top mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 67 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[5] Dennis Harvey of Variety called the film "beguiling",[3] while Michael Rechtshaffen of the Los Angeles Times found it "intriguing and distinctive".[6] Film Threat reviewer Alex Saveliev likened the film to "an extended confession at a Buddhist temple".[7] Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times criticized the lead actor's "desultory" performance and added that "the drift of the filmmaking seemed to fall short of the transcendence envisioned by its story."[8]