The Weeping Camel

Last saturday I was complaining about the idiotic movies that are coming out of America nowadays. Well, today I made up for last week's debacle, and I rented a good movie, called The Story of the Weeping Camel.

It's a really neat story, set in the southern desert of Mongolia. A family of camel and sheep herders is placed in a difficult situation when one of their camels rejects her newborn. This rejection is due to a difficult birth, as well as a drastic difference in physical appearance between the colt and the mother: the colt is white, the mother is dark brown.

The movie is full of heartbreaking moments, as the family tries again and again to unite the camels: mother and colt.

Eventually, they fetch a musician from the city, and the combination of his stringed instrument and the beautiful singing of one of the female family members results quite literally, in tears. The camels wail and weep dramatically, and by the end of the song they are reunited.

The mother nurses the child, signifying final acceptance, and the colt gladly accepts.

Besides the story of the camel, the movie also provides an insightful window into Mongolian Nomadic life. As one review said: "All of this is told in a narrative that is not a cute true-life animal tale, but an observant and respectful record of the daily rhythms and patterns of these lives. We sense the dynamics among the generations, how age is valued and youth is cherished, how the lives of these people make sense to them in a way that ours never will, because they know why they do what they do, and what will come of it. The causes and effects of their survival are visible, and they are responsible."