CATRIONA PAUL at the Movies.

RECOMMENDING YOU spend an hour and a half watching camels might sound an unlikely proposal. But The Story of the Weeping Camel, in which rarely a scene passes without a camel in shot, is a beautiful and moving docu-drama offering a window to another world – that of the nomadic shepherds of the Gobi Desert, South Mongolia.
 
It is Spring; one camel endures an agonising birth and rejects her newborn – a beautiful white colt. In order to reconcile mother and son, the shepherd family engage the prayers of local lamas but when this fails, Dude and Ugna (young brothers) must ride to the local township, 50 km away, to summon the help of a violinist. He will perform a concert of soothing and strange music in the hope of reuniting camel and colt.
  
Whilst the film is scripted, it does present factual material – the family and the camel story are genuine. Director Byambasuren Davaa was born in Ullanbator, but her grandparents had been shepherds. This family history seems to have allowed the director (and her cameras) a closeness to her subjects, much to the film’s benefit.
 
Partly funded by National Geographic, it’s no surprise that the film presents something endangered. The shepherds’ way of life seems happily traditional but TV and consumerism are encroaching whilst the local township shows no sign that this is an advantage – rich, vibrant traditional clothes swapped for grubby sweatshirts and sweat pants; traditional tepee homes replaced by perishable oblong boxes of buildings; camels for bikes and cars; make-believe for the small screen. By the close of the film, you are left wondering at the progress of the West; if complex means improved or just complicated.
  
Thought provoking, moving, educational, lyrical and with a cast of camels and humans to melt your heart (watch out for the youngest son Ugna whose smile steals every scene), go watch camels for 90 minutes.
  
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL (Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel)
Selected cinemas.

Directors: Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni
Writers: Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni
Stars: Janchiv Ayurzana, Chimed Ohin, Amgaabazar Gonson, Zeveljamz Nyam, Iklbayar Amgaabazar, Odgerel Ayusch, Enkhbulgan Ikhbayar, Uuganbaatar Ikhbyara, Guntbaatar Ikhbayar
Certificate: PG
Running Time: 87 mins
Country: Germany / Mongolia
Year: 2003
 

© Catriona Paul, 2004