Byambasuren Davaa, a Mongolian ex-pat filmmaker living in Germany, here follows up his 2004 documentary masterpiece, "The Story of the Weeping Camel," with another tale about the daily lives of a real nomadic shepherd family the Batchuluuns that live on the isolated Mongolian veld.
"Weeping Camel" featured an intense drama, chock full of suspense, when a postpartum camel rejects its albino newborn, thereby threatening its life. "Yellow Dog" offers no comparable crisis or suspense. It is in fact more than anything a sweet children's story. The older daughter, Nansal, who's around 9, finds a stray pup to dote on as a pet. But her father, Urjindorj, wants the dog Zocher - lost pronto, fearing that it was raised by wolves that might show up and slaughter the family's goats. Will Nansal get to keep her beloved pooch? There is a brief yet dangerous turning point in this story, one that modifies Urjindorj's attitude.
The story, which, like "Camel," also provides allusions to the supernatural beliefs of these people, takes place over a summer, and, as autumn draws close, we have the opportunity to witness the step by step dismantling of the family's commodious yurt and its furnishings, as they prepare to migrate to more propitious winter grazing land. It's a far cry from car camping. (In Mongolian & German) My grades: 7/10 (high B). (Seen on 12/09/06)
"Weeping Camel" featured an intense drama, chock full of suspense, when a postpartum camel rejects its albino newborn, thereby threatening its life. "Yellow Dog" offers no comparable crisis or suspense. It is in fact more than anything a sweet children's story. The older daughter, Nansal, who's around 9, finds a stray pup to dote on as a pet. But her father, Urjindorj, wants the dog Zocher - lost pronto, fearing that it was raised by wolves that might show up and slaughter the family's goats. Will Nansal get to keep her beloved pooch? There is a brief yet dangerous turning point in this story, one that modifies Urjindorj's attitude.
The story, which, like "Camel," also provides allusions to the supernatural beliefs of these people, takes place over a summer, and, as autumn draws close, we have the opportunity to witness the step by step dismantling of the family's commodious yurt and its furnishings, as they prepare to migrate to more propitious winter grazing land. It's a far cry from car camping. (In Mongolian & German) My grades: 7/10 (high B). (Seen on 12/09/06)