Review of The Weeping Camel

After watching the film i thought is wasn't all that good it was some where between a documentary and an indie film (although it describes its self as a documentary). In the beginning it starts out by showing the life styles of the nomadic herders who live in the Gobi desert. one of the funnier things was when the grand mother tied the little girl to the main pole of the yurt to keep her away from the hot fire stove. This reminded me of a time when we were at Disney world and a couple had their kid on a leash to keep him from running off. he was a bit older than this child was but a yurt isn't the same size as Disney world. The plot starts to move when the first colt of the season is born. Then another camel gives birth to a rare white camel. The mother how ever wont let its baby nurse. The family trys every thing from tieing the camel's legs together to having the baby sneak up on it's mother. I t was around this point of the movie where i began to think that is a re-telling of the "ugly duckling story" but instead with camels. The two sons venture into town on camels to try to get a music teacher. Its a long journey into town on the way they encounter a sand storm and had to stop at another person's tent. I wasn't sure if they were relatives of the boys or if Mongolian culture is such that in the event of a sand storm you can be allowed in-side any body's home. These people have a TV and the younger boy is mesmerised by it. Eventually the boys make it into town and go to the market there they get six batteries for their grand father. This reminds me of my own grandfather who had a box of batteries all ways lying around. With the help of an older woman who I expect to also be related to them they find the music teacher. Its not until later that we know what the music teacher is for. When they get home they inform their parents that the music teacher will come. The next scene is done very well we see a motor cycle come over the horizon. The music teacher plays a banjo/violin and the mother of the boys sings and to the mother camel who first begins to cry and eventually lets the baby nurse.