I've been watching foreign films lately and I have to say, this one was excellent. This movie is about a family living in Mongolia, in the Golbi Desert. The land is very arid and windy and cold. The family lives in a yurt - a roundish tent like dwelling that doesn't look like much from the outside but is elegant and comfortable on the inside. The grandparents, parents and children all live together. They raise camels and goats and sheep. They are agricultural people.
The movie shows the family raising the children, eating meals, playing games, and worshipping. Their lives are simple but fulfilling. The shows starts with the breeding season of the camel herd. WARNING! Don't read any further if you are going to watch the movie. The last camel to give birth has a terrible time of it. This is her first born and she is in labor for two days. She tries to leave and go off by herself in the desert but they bring her back. The family has to help her birth the camel. The family is very respectful of their animals and they treat the animals with patience and understanding. But the young female camel is traumatized and does not want to nurse her young calf. She kicks at him to get away from her. The family tries several ways to get the calf to nurse. They talk about it every evening and try new ideas the next day. The entire family focuses their problem solving skills on this young calf and his very non-maternal mother. The family milks the camel and tries to feed the calf through a hollowed out horn with a nipple. But that isn't enough to keep the calf going. After consulting with the neighboring farms, they decide they have to ask for help from, of all people, a violinist. So the teenage boy and his younger brother travel, via camel, to the nearest town. So the boys go to the town. The youngest brother is intrigued with television. This town has electricity and televisions. He wants this for himself. They go to the school and track down the orchestra director. A couple days after the boys return home, a violinist comes to visit their farm via a motorcycle. The violin is different. It is held between the legs and rests on the floor like a cello. The violin has two strings on it. The bow is similar to our bows. The sound it makes has that Asian sound to it. When the violinist arrives, he is treated to a snack of milk and bread. The violinist and the whole family including neighbors goes outside. The violinist puts a blue strap on his violin and hangs it over the Momma camel's hump. The wind passes over the strings and it makes a natural music. After a few minutes of wearing the violin, the camel listens as the violinist performs for her. The mother of the family sings a song and the violinist accompanies her. After two songs, the father of the family brings the calf to encourages it to suckle. This time the mother camels lets her baby nurse. Tears stream from the camel's eyes as her baby nurses. I was amazed that in such a primitive existance, a violinist is hired to solve an agricultural problem. Later, when the violinist and the family are celebrating by having dinner together, the young boy asks for a television set. The Grandfather says it would not be good to spend all day watching the images in a glass box. Watching, I nod in agreement, as I sit there watching the images in a glass box myself. Television would totally change their living situation. This was a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it. Two Thumbs Up for The Weeping Camel.
The movie shows the family raising the children, eating meals, playing games, and worshipping. Their lives are simple but fulfilling. The shows starts with the breeding season of the camel herd. WARNING! Don't read any further if you are going to watch the movie. The last camel to give birth has a terrible time of it. This is her first born and she is in labor for two days. She tries to leave and go off by herself in the desert but they bring her back. The family has to help her birth the camel. The family is very respectful of their animals and they treat the animals with patience and understanding. But the young female camel is traumatized and does not want to nurse her young calf. She kicks at him to get away from her. The family tries several ways to get the calf to nurse. They talk about it every evening and try new ideas the next day. The entire family focuses their problem solving skills on this young calf and his very non-maternal mother. The family milks the camel and tries to feed the calf through a hollowed out horn with a nipple. But that isn't enough to keep the calf going. After consulting with the neighboring farms, they decide they have to ask for help from, of all people, a violinist. So the teenage boy and his younger brother travel, via camel, to the nearest town. So the boys go to the town. The youngest brother is intrigued with television. This town has electricity and televisions. He wants this for himself. They go to the school and track down the orchestra director. A couple days after the boys return home, a violinist comes to visit their farm via a motorcycle. The violin is different. It is held between the legs and rests on the floor like a cello. The violin has two strings on it. The bow is similar to our bows. The sound it makes has that Asian sound to it. When the violinist arrives, he is treated to a snack of milk and bread. The violinist and the whole family including neighbors goes outside. The violinist puts a blue strap on his violin and hangs it over the Momma camel's hump. The wind passes over the strings and it makes a natural music. After a few minutes of wearing the violin, the camel listens as the violinist performs for her. The mother of the family sings a song and the violinist accompanies her. After two songs, the father of the family brings the calf to encourages it to suckle. This time the mother camels lets her baby nurse. Tears stream from the camel's eyes as her baby nurses. I was amazed that in such a primitive existance, a violinist is hired to solve an agricultural problem. Later, when the violinist and the family are celebrating by having dinner together, the young boy asks for a television set. The Grandfather says it would not be good to spend all day watching the images in a glass box. Watching, I nod in agreement, as I sit there watching the images in a glass box myself. Television would totally change their living situation. This was a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it. Two Thumbs Up for The Weeping Camel.
No comments:
Post a Comment