Mongolian-native Byambasuren Davaa's (2003) documentary "The Story of the Weeping Camel" was an international success and was nominated for a 2005 Oscar. In "The Story of the Yellow Dog" (2005) she went to western Mongolia and filmed one isolated nomad family's summer, from the time the eldest child (Nansal, a six-year-old daughter ) returns from boarding school until they break their summer camp, load the yurt and their possessions on yak-drawn carts and herd their sheep and goats to winter camp.

Early on, the father (Batchuluun Urjindorj, who I'd think was in his early 30s, but could have been in his late-20s) finds two of his sheep have been killed by a wolf (or wolves). He skins them and takes the (seemingly untreated) sheepskins on his motorbike to sell in town (wherever that might be). I guess that they are vegetarians. They do not eat the meat, which white-headed vultures are only too happy to.

Before going, the father leaves orders to get rid of the black-and-white dog that the elder daughter found in a cave, concerned that it has been running with wolves.

She cannot bear to part with Mochar. (This is the dog's name in the subtitles, though I don't hear a terminal consonant: sounds like mo-ka to me. It is probably a Shaki, resembling a young border collie.) When Mochar wanders off from the herd she is supposed to be watching, she goes off looking for the dog, leaving the sheep and goat to find their own way back to the stockade.

The father is concerned that wolves will follow the scent of the dog and further cull his herds. (The wolves can't follow the trail of a hundred sheep and goats? And if the dog went on the cart with the girl, there would be no trail, right?)

There is a drama of sorts in which the dog wins over the father. But the film is a documentary of daily life among the vanishing breed of nomads. There are fewer and fewer herdsman (herdsfamilies) and the father is thinking about taking a job in the city himself.

I was surprised by how much stuff was in the yurt. For me the most fascinating part of the film was taking down the yurt (thereby seeing how it's constructed, with color-coded poles). The mountains of western Mongolia provide scenic backdrops and there are some dramatic clouds. Also interesting are the offerings (of milk) to the land that supports the herds. The family is Tibetan Buddhist (with a photo of the Dalai Lama and a Buddha that the younger daughter (Nansalmaa) reminds the still-younger son (Babbayar) must not be treated as a plaything) with considerable residual animism. Reincarnation beliefs are a leitmotif, with Nansal nearly obsessed with trying to recover knowledge of her previous incarnation.

In addition to a theatrical trailer, the DVD includes a 13-minute interview (in German, subtitled in English) with director Byambasuren Davaa that, despite some stultifyingly stupid questions, has much of interest about how the film was made, not knowing what the family members were going to do any day and relating that one day Nansal told the crew she didn't want to be filmed. She also related that the son (Babbayar) who had learned to talk between when the film was shot (when he was two and a half) and when it was shown to them, watched it three times, peppering his mother with questions, but rapt. And that the film was very popular when it was shown in Ulaan Bator.

Although having a child plus pet that the parents want to get rid of story, I think that to like "The Story of the Yellow Dog" one has to be interested in how nomads(/Mongols) live. The film documents (without comment in the film--though a commentary track is available on the DVD) what are everyday conduct for the Batchuluun family. Even with a few yaks, this is less exotic (to me) than living with camels. (Because camels are ornerier?)

My favorite Mongolian film remains Urga (Close to Eden, 1991, directed by Nikita Mikhalkov) which focuses on another nomadic family with some modern artifacts. I'd like to see Nohoi oron (State of Dogs, 1998)

© 2007, Stephen O. Murray



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4