Story of the Weeping Camel

Rating:
Summary: The Harsh Reality of the Gobi Desert with Poignant Solution
Review: A visual impression of the environment in the southern Mongolian Gobi desert would be a sandy foreground with tall mountains in the far horizon topped with an endless blue sky. Storms appear with short notice and without consideration of the people inhabiting the desert. Populations in this remote location, where modern technology and monetary system do not apply, must find alternative means for continued existence. Sheep farming and camel breeding are the main means of trade as the earth is too exhausted to farm. The comfort of continual running water or electricity available from the flip of a switch is something of a fantasy. Despite these hardships, the people of the Gobi desert remain in this harsh environment living by their ancient traditions, which the elderly pass down to younger generations.

The Italian, Luigi Falorni, and Mongolian, Byambasuren Davaa, filmmaker with German film background ventured to the unsympathetic land of the Gobi desert where they intended to capture the truth of the people living in this sandy place. The two filmmakers began their shooting in the spring, after the severe winter, as they decided on capturing the life of a family consisting of four different generations living together in a couple of tent-like structures. Daily chores around their home are being immortalized by the camera, which depicts a life style with very little external stimuli. All members of the family tend to the sheep and camels, as children are taught from an early age to help with the chores. Several situations display the family members' awareness of nature's phenomenon, as they have to handle camel births and prepare for stormy weather.

Unintentionally, Falorni and Davaa stumble upon a spectacular story, which they were fortunate to transmit to the world through their documentary. The story within the documentary begins at the end of a camel birthing season when one of the camels, Ingen Temee, rejects its white offspring, Botok, after a two day long labor. Images of other camels embracing their young colts pass on the affectionate nature of the camels, which increases the emotional pain depicted as Ingen Temee rejects Botok. The little white colt is in constant hunger as the mother refuses to let him feed, which will cause much sadness among the viewers. However, to the people of Gobi desert the camel has more than affectionate value. The value of the camel is illustrated the use of the camel, as the camel provides transportation, milk, rope, and even toys for children. In essence, the camel is a means of survival. In order to prevent the young colt from dying the family decides to send Dude, a young teen, and his much younger brother, Ugna, on a 50 kilometer journey on camel to return with a violinist in order to hold a old traditional ceremony.

The journey for the violinist turns out to be an eye-boggling adventure for Ugna, as he discovers the wonders of television. Ugna cannot take his eyes off this square piece of technology that he discovered at some close neighbors home, a days camel ride away. When the two brothers continue to their destination Ugna asks Dude what a television would cost. Dude responds, "about 50 sheep, but then you would also need electricity." This displays the authenticity of the story and the value system by which they live.

Eventually the two boys return from their long journey, which leads the viewers to one of the most amazing events in history where the power of music will carry over to another species. This leaves the viewer wondering over the scientific approach to the world. However, it also brings a warm and poignant feeling that remains within the audience long after the film is over.

The Story of the Weeping Camel is in some aspects a dreary cinematic experience, but it has to be slow and monotonous compared to western living. As mentioned before, very little external stimuli is provided to the people in the film. The only means of communication with the outside world is a battery-operated radio, which does not work through most of the film, as they do not have batteries. In the stillness and the seemingly endless desert the audience will experience a truly genuine culture. This culture sheds some light on our high-technological society, as it probably will make most of the viewers feel a little embarrassed about our daily complaints when the cable does not work, or if electricity is accidentally shut off.

Rating:
Summary: Profound, deeply moving, paradigmatic
Review: I can see how this film might be difficult for modern westerners--technologically and culturally sophisticated, conditioned and adapted to the complexity and fast pace of an urban existance.

But there was a time--before the migrations to Europe and to North America, that our ancestors lived very much like the people of the film, nomadic herders in the plains of central Asia. The spiritual crisis of modern people emerges out of our loss of awareness or memory of "archaic realites". We can no longer hear the echoes of the voices of the ancient ones. We tend to be vastly removed from the natural world, sheltered in our high rise condominiums, often times the only example of nature in our environment is a lap dog. It has not always been like this.

The animals that these Mongolians herd, they used to hunt, thousands upon thousands of years ago. It was easier to domesticate them. The way of life of these herding people has proceeded, over the millennia, with very little change, although, the people in the film have aquired a cast iron stove, and the youngest of their clan seem transfixed by the lure of modern technology such as television and computer games. When the little child, Ugma, asks for a television, his grandfather warns him, "You don't want to sit around and watch glass images all day. That wouldn't be good."

Instead, they care for their animals and for each other, in a manner seemingly unchanged since the dawn of time itself. When a new camel mother rejects her first born, following a difficult birth, it becomes a problem that only humans seem to understand. Only humans seem to be capable of providing an intervention. The other camels seem oblivious to the cries of the lonely, starving, abandoned, colt. But the humans know what to do. They have seen this before. They send for a tribal violinist. There was a time when one did not need to travel far to find one. But times have changed. Now one needs to take a day to ride a camel to the nearest cultural center, and ask the music teacher to come and help. But when he does, the humans gather around the new mother. then hang the violin from her hump. The wind gently invokes haunting soft echoes from its soundboard. Then the violin is removed and the musician begins to play. The human mother gently strokes the camels fur and sings softly to her. And the mother camel begins to weep. The little colt is brought forward, and begins to nurse. His mother accepts him. There is hope. There has been healing.

This is a little bit of the ancient wisdom lost to modern people. These were among the things our ancestors once understood. That the place of humans in the pantheon of life is to be the agents of nature--good stewards, correcting things, fixing natures little mistakes, getting things back into a natural harmony. Who else has the intelligence to do this job?

There is a primordial, raw, spiritual power to this story that is deeply, and profoundly touching. It is told in a minimalist fashion, and that ramps up the subtlety of feeling necessary to appreciate the moment of restoration, once it comes. You could say, in traditional terms, that the Mongolian shamans have manifested a "metanoia", a life transforming change of heart, for this camel. The power and beauty and purity of the moment seems to affect them all. Life is good. We are one heart.

Psychologically speaking, we are all capable of armoring ourselves against the challenges of this cruel world to the point where we are no longer capable of feeling empathy, sympathy, mercy or compassion for ourselves or others. If only our doctors and priests had the simple, and singular knowledge possessed by these Mongolian herdsman. If only someone could play the violin for us, and stroke us, and sing to us, and melt our hearts. How much violence would be left in the world after moments of healing like that?

Rating:
Summary: Tears of the mother camel.
Review: I didn't get to see this one at the theater, so I was glad that it finally arrived in DVD! Basically, I just expected it to be an educational documentary on a rare subject, and I wanted to see the landscapes in the beautiful desert of Mongolia. To my surprise, I was very taken by this film, because it featured breath-taking cinematography of the Gobi Desert, and the story was very touching. I was especially moved by the relationship between the camels and their human owners. If you enjoyed Winged Migration and Whale Rider, then you are bound to love this film as well.
The story is about a family and one of their female camels that was pregnant and how they assisted her to deliver her first baby. It took two days to deliver the white colt, and since it's feet came out first, it had caused a great deal of pain to the mother camel. Maybe that was the reason she refused to feed her baby. The neglected colt was to be feed by hand using milk that was gathered from another camel. The family decided to find a special musician to come and perform a ritual on the camel to help her become a good mother. The two boys of the family rode on camels to the town to invite the musician to return with them. During the ritual ceremony, the musician played an instrument while one of the woman in the family sang a special song to the camel. Within minutes, the mother camel started to cry. I mean she was actually shedding massive tears! That was how the miracle took place, and she finally allow her baby to suckle her breast for milk. I was totally mesmerized by that scene, because it really showed that the camel had feelings and was profoundly moved by the family.
All of the cast members were the actual residents of that area, and they were very natural in front of the cameras. Except when the boys went to the town, everyone there were staring at the camera with curiosity. The special feature of the DVD has a photo gallery that has pictures of everyone including the cast and crew members. It would've been nice if they did a 'making of" segment. Anyways, if you love animals, and have a fascination for life in another part of the world, then this is your cup of tea.

Rating:
Summary: Stringed Instrument
Review: In the vein of THE WHALE RIDER, or THE FAST RUNNER - this story follows a family of Mongolian nomads. And among the camels they have - one mother bears a white colt and rejects it. The story that follows was incredible and ... well, it weren't just the camels that teared up.

Rating:
Summary: Splendid
Review: OK, tough guys don't do sentimental camel documentaries: world's big enough for all of us. Lots of people will go away from this movie all mushy and smiling, and deservedly so. The cinematography depicting the Gobi desert and the harsh life of its residents is breathtaking and leaves me wondering how the heck you get to Ulan Bator as soon as possible. The depiction of life is not without cliches, but even cliches can be enacted effectively, and these are. The plot (will the mother camel acknowledge her calf) is a perfectly conventional tear-jerker and you *know* the ending from the very beginning, but it doesn't matter. A feast for the eyes and a warm fuzzy, and not without instruction on ways of life different from but touched by our own -- a sub-fascination for me was identifying the western brands and products that have penetrated that far. Not an accident it's nominated for an Oscar for documentary.

Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Review: The Story of the Weeping Camel offers a close-up view of life in modern day Mongolia by hearkening back to a mystical, shamanistic tradition. The plot revolves around a mother camel who gives birth to a snow white colt in a difficult delivery, only then to turn around and reject her baby, refusing to feed it. The herding family who tend the camels tries everything they can think of to bond the mother and colt, all to no avail. As a last resort, they send their two young boys to the big city to retrieve a violinist who can play the traditional music. According to their legend, if the music makes the mother weep, she will bond with her infant colt.

Unfortunately, The Story of the Weeping Camel cannot quite decide if it wants to be a documentary or a drama. As a documentary, we are shown the rigors of Mongolian herding life - the loneliness, the torturous weather, the distance from modernity. We also see the pull of the new as the two young boys experience computer games and television on their trip to the big city. Along the way, the directors also make sure we see children clothed in Nike and Adidas logos, as if to reinforce the unrelenting encroachment of globalization.

As a drama, the story is conventional and predictable. The family struggles to bond the camel and her colt, they send for help (although there seems to be no sense of urgency in the colt's situation), and everyone lives happily ever after. Even the boys get a present - a new television and satellite dish.

The Story of the Weeping Camel is an interesting look at a remote culture and way of life, but others have done similar movies better. For example, take a look at Postman in the Mountains or The Fast Runner and compare their dramatic approaches and ability to captivate the viewer to that of Weeping Camel. The former two movies are 5 Star works. This one rates a 3 by comparison.

Rating:
Summary: A So-So Documentary Packaged in a So-So Drama
Review: THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL portrays the life and livelihoods of a small group of camel herders on the barren wastes of the Mongolian plain. The movie focuses on the rejection of a snow white, newborn camel colt by its mother, the family's futile efforts to bond the mother to her colt, and their ultimate resort to an ancient ritual involving a violin-accompanied chant. If the ritual succeeds, the mother camel is believed to weep in accepting her newborn and allowing it to drink her milk.

Around this simple premise, the directors Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni build a documentary-style exploration of a simple and vanishing way of life: closeness to Nature, interdependency of family members, resourcefulness in the face of limited resources, finding pleasure in small things. At the same time, modern life encroaches as the family's two young boys set out on camels for the nearest large town to retrieve the music teacher for the camel bonding ceremony (and also buy some D-cell batteries for their grandfather's radio). On their trek, we see them fascinated by television, bicycles, computer games, and ice cream cones. We also see children adorned with Nike and Adidas labels, further harbingers of impending change and reminders of the endless reach of global brands.

The cinematic approach here is documentary, yet parts are clearly staged. The result is an odd mixture of realism and story-telling. The documentary moments feel honest and observant, but the plotted moments often feel contrived. The directors go overboard linking the camel's rejection of her colt to the Mongolian mother's caring for her little girl, pairing those scenes so closely that they nearly slap you in the face, even at the closing scenes. The boys' interest in getting a television and their father's easy acceptance of their request (ending with the boys trying to position a satellite dish) is another instance where a different story-telling motivation nearly overwhelms the original one.

The directors have made an odd choice in this film, presenting a family tale without introducing the family members. Aside from the little girl, Guntee, and the two young boys, Dude (doo-duh) and Ugna, we never learn the names of the family members until they are "presented" at the closing credits. We don't even learn until the end that the mother and baby camel have names. This decision creates an unnecessary sense of distance from an otherwise intimate story.

Viewers can approach this movie as a National Geographic animal story, a tale about the power of folk customs and the magic of tribal music, a view of the nomadic herdsmen's life on the austere Mongolian plains, or a cautionary story about the encroachment of Western brands and technologies on the simple life of the "noble savage." The movie's strength is that it can be seen in so many different lights at the same time, yet that also leads to the movie's greatest weakness - its inability to execute any one of those story lines fully and convincingly.

THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL is told without adornment or special effects. The pacing is slow and deliberate, undoubtedly a mirror of Mongolian camel herding life, but I found my attention wandering at times. The story line is short on human drama, and even the animal drama is minimized by the size of the family's sheep and camel herds and their hand-milking of the mother camel and hand-feeding of her colt. Neither the family's well-being nor the baby camel's survival ever seems at issue.

In sum, this is a moderately interesting examination of Mongolian life and traditions. Although it is simply and directly told, THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL regrettably also demonstrates that less is not always more. Sometimes, it really is just less.



Rating:
Summary: Don't categorize this one
Review: There is a great deal of debate lately over whether this film (or this type of film) is rightfully categorized as a documentary or a drama.

It may make an interesting discussion for film critics, but frankly, I don't care. I enjoyed every moment of the movie no matter what category you put it in.

I was transported to another world, granted at least a glimpse of nomatic life in the Gobi desert. It was full of surprises for me, and wonder. The people, the environment, the music -- all presented in a memorable and heart warming way. Isn't that what the best of movies can do?



Rating:
Summary: Creme de la Creme
Review: This beat out the repellent "Fahrenheit 9/11" for the Directors Guild best documentary award today, so it must be a great film. Or then again, maybe not. But give it a chance anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to tell if Narrative-story or noteable Documentary!
Review: Upon first entering the desert winds and sands of Mongolia, we could not believe it might unfold gradually into an awesomely authentic Folk Story! One other review asks whether it is called a narrative story or a documentary? -- "Who cares Which?"

Our early evaluation after beholding the startling two-day Birth of the White-coated Camel Colt..."What sort of a mystery could maybe develop into the combined working of such a loving family of different aged Mongolian adults and children?"

Many scenes veered away from being a beautifully crafted, folk story of impossibility, back to a creatively original, one-of-a-kind Documentary! We were surprised that 2 film-makers, Falorni, an Italian alongside a Mongolian who trained in Germany, with an unspellable first name and last name of Davaa... Both of whom, traveled to Mongolia and stumbled upon this story with mystical traditions blended between this white coated camel, acting-out towards the mother who disowned her baby, only to be healed by therapy of music!

This was accomplished by two young brothers who traveled several days trip into next village music school with success! After our viewing this amazing story once, it felt totally necessary to watch it again; So we could recommend it as A+ No.1 to our DVD viewing friends and relatives: Hooray.WOWEE! Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood