The Story of the Weeping Camel

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dave s The Story of the Weeping Camel is an interesting enough look into a culture that most viewers have probably never been exposed to, which makes it worth a peak. Set in Mongolia, there are plenty of wide-open spaces, larger-than-they-look yurts adorned with colorful carpets, cute little kids who seem wise beyond their years…and plenty of camels. In a nutshell, it's the story of a camel who gives birth and decides to ignore its offspring, resulting in the locals banding together to try to reunite the two. There are some lovely panoramic shots and the scenes with the weeping newborn are touching, but nothing much of interest really happens. It's enjoyable enough and even somewhat educational, but it is sort of the cinematic equivalent of reading the most recent edition of National Geographic. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni's The Story of the Weeping Camel film is a fascinating "narrative documentary" that shows us much of the lives of the people living on the edges of the Gobi Desert in Central Asia and along the Silk Roads. The movie tells us the story of a family of Mongolian nomadic pastoralists and of their camel, which gives birth to a rare white calf and refuses to take care of it. I watched this movie due to my interest in Central Asian nomads that stems from my studying of the Central Asia and the Silk Roads and was very satisfied with my choice to do so. The format of the film as a "narrative documentary" was what made this film so intriguing to me. The film follows the lives of a real nomadic family of camel herders in Mongolia and that's it. What differs this from a regular documentary is the absence of a narration by experts on the topic that would explain what was going on. Instead, this film solely features a camera following the group of nomadic pastoralists around as they live their lives. This allows us to have a genuine and unbiased view on the lives of the nomadic pastoralists that still live in Central Asia to this day. Watching this film helped me realize how different the timeless way of life of these nomads are compared to our lifestyles and even other Mongolians who lived near the area that did not live a nomadic lifestyle. Everything from the clothes that they wore to their views on consumption. It was particularly interesting to see the two young boys from the nomadic family go to a modern community marketplace to find the violinist. Their interactions with some of the aspects of this modern way of life really highlighted the difference in the nomadic way of life. Although I have learned of the nomadic pastoralists who were once abundantly found throughout Central Asia, I had no idea that there were still people who led a nomadic life in these regions to this date prior to watching this documentary. This really changed my view on the nomadic way of life as it made me fully realize that there were people who enjoyed living this nomadic way of life compared to living in our modern civilization. I had even heard that one of the members of the family depicted in this narrative documentary had actually gone to boarding school previously but had chosen to go back to this way of life. In conclusion, I would highly recommend everyone to watch this film especially if they have an interest in learning about the lives of nomadic pastoralists who were once found all over Central Asia along the Silk Roads. This film gives the audience a rare glimpse of the exotic way of life that nomadic pastoralists across Central Asia led in a very true and genuine manner. I believe that regardless of interest in the region, everyone can take away something from watching this film, whether its merely knowledge about the nomads' way of life or a reflection on their own ways of life. I highly enjoyed watching this narrative documentary and am not surprised about its nomination for the Oscar for Best Documentary. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member My favorite documentary ever. The makers got a bit lucky to happen on a great, real-life story. But, they were prepared, very good at what they do and were in the right place at the right time. Lucky us! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member I didn't get the appeal of this movie. It's about a camel and a tribe that smokes some cigarettes. That's really it. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review s r Subtle and insightful look into Mongolian camel herding family. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member very slow and uninteresting. almost fell asleep. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Story of the Weeping Camel

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