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Khadak

Play trailer Poster for Khadak 2006 1h 44m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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71% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A livestock plague forces a young Mongolian shepherd (Batzul Khayankhyarvaa) and his family to abandon their nomadic ways and relocate to a mining town.

Critics Reviews

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Ted Fry Seattle Times 11/02/2007
2.5/4
There's an eerie, magical quality to the political and symbolist fable embedded in Khadak, a visually beautiful film about disappearing nomadic culture on the harsh steppes of Mongolia. Go to Full Review
Sid Smith Chicago Tribune 10/18/2007
3/4
It gorgeously recalls Fellini and Koyaanisqatsi and hauntingly pits ancient tradition against science, oppression and industrial rot. Go to Full Review
V.A. Musetto New York Post 10/12/2007
3/4
Khadak is beautifully filmed and energetically acted, with standout performances by newcomer Tsetsegee Byamba as Zolzaya and Batzu Khayankhyarvaa as Bagi. Go to Full Review
Dorothy Woodend The Tyee (British Columbia) 08/23/2017
For sheer visual excitement, it's difficult to top Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth's film Khadak. Go to Full Review
Stan Hall Oregonian 11/16/2007
Cinematography aficionados will be enthralled. Unfortunately, Khadak also has a story to tell, and does so in very slow and baffling ways, especially in a second half chock-full of muddled, exhausting symbolism. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Dave S Jul 28 The first half of Khadak is a fascinating look at rural Mongolian culture, filled with beautiful cinematography that captures the sweeping vistas of the steppes and the day-to-day activities of its nomadic inhabitants. It is absolutely stunning at times. However, the second half of the film, after a family is relocated to a mining town as the result of a livestock plague, is baffling at the best of times, gradually taking on a weird arthouse vibe. Filled with odd symbolism, it just comes a cross as horribly pretentious, which is a shame considering how strong the first half is. Maybe this would all make more sense for someone from Mongolia who’s watching it in a cinema in Ulan Bator. Not being from Mongolia and watching it in the cosey confines of my basement, I’m left very confused and a little disappointed. See more 08/24/2012 I REALLY wanted to like this, however, it is the slowest-moving film I have ever seen, and there is almost zero dialogue. I found it impossible to understand the story-line, such as it was. Naturally, the critics here all would love this, but I doubt many viewers will have this much patience. Looking forward to another film from Mongolia.... See more 06/27/2012 Epilepsy and shamanism are closely related in many cultures. The main characters visions meld with reality until the whole beautiful film becomes a stark figment. Amazing cinematography. "Khadak makes the most of Mongolia's vast horizons and swallowing space, the grandeur of emptiness, together with precisely composed pictures" See more 08/11/2010 A meditation on the effects of forced industrialization and globalization on a community of nomadic herders. This is a poetic and cerebral endeavor, so its not recommended for the faint of mind. See more 02/15/2010 (****): Thumbs Up A beautiful and almost hypnotic minimalist film. This would make a great half of a double feature with the film Tulpan (2009). See more 10/01/2009 Khadak=Le signe des ancetres (tjr bon a savoir). On y voit le désir de retour aux racines des paysans qui ont ete forces a partir de chez eux, a cause d'une contagion animale inventee par le gouvernement. L'histoire est simple. La symbolique est,elle, tres, meme trop presente: differents plans qui doivent signifier qqch sauf qu'on ne voit pas quoi exactement. Traduction svp See more Read all reviews
Khadak

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Movie Info

Synopsis A livestock plague forces a young Mongolian shepherd (Batzul Khayankhyarvaa) and his family to abandon their nomadic ways and relocate to a mining town.
Director
Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Screenwriter
Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth
Production Co
Lemming Film, Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion, uFilm, Umedia, ZDF, Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique, Arte, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Cinéart, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Mongolian
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 13, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.0K
Runtime
1h 44m