Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel (2003)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Directors:

Byambasuren Davaa
Luigi Falorni

Writers:

Byambasuren Davaa (writer)
Batbayar Davgadorj (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

8 January 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Drama | Family

Tagline:

Some fairy tales are true... some legends are real.

Plot:

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

Plot Keywords:

Camel | Desert | Musician | Mongolia | Nomad

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Janchiv Ayurzana	...	Janchiv
Chimed Ohin	...	Chimed
Amgaabazar Gonson	...	Amgaa
Zeveljamz Nyam	...	Zevel
Ikhbayar Amgaabazar	...	Ikchee
Odgerel Ayusch	...	Odgoo
Enkhbulgan Ikhbayar	...	Dude
Uuganbaatar Ikhbayar	...	Ugna
Guntbaatar Ikhbayar	...	Guntee
Munkhbayar Lhagvaa	...	Munkbayar, violin teacher
Ariunjargal Adiya	...	Teacher's Assistant
Dogo Roljav	...	Relative Aimak I
Chuluunzezeg Gur	...	Relative Aimak II
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Botok	...	Baby Camel
Ingen Tenne	...	Mother Camel

Directed by
Byambasuren Davaa
Luigi Falorni

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Byambasuren Davaa		writer
Batbayar Davgadorj		writer
Luigi Falorni		writer

Produced by
Claudia Gladziejewski	....	co-producer
Natalie Lambsdorff	....	co-executive producer: HFF
Tobias Siebert	....	producer
Evi Stangassinger	....	co-executive producer: HFF
Benigna von Keyserlingk	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Marcel Leniz
Marc Riedinger
Choigiw Sangidorj

Cinematography by
Luigi Falorni
Juliane Gregor

Film Editing by
Anja Pohl

Set Decoration by
Mendbayar Pol

Costume Design by
Unorjargal Amgaabazar

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jiska Rickels	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Hans-Dieter Desinger	....	sound mixer
Ansgar Frerich	....	sound designer
Ansgar Frerich	....	sound
Tatjana Jakob	....	sound designer
Marc Meusinger	....	sound recordist
Carsten Richter	....	foley artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Sebastian Grundt	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Bertl Grabmayr	....	telecine grader

Other crew
Daschdamba Damba	....	camp manager
Batbayar Davgadorj	....	location manager
Beatrix Wesle	....	world sales

Production Companies

• Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (HFF)
• Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) (in association with)
• FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (support)

Distributors

• Prokino Filmverleih (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2004) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• ARP Sélection (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• ARP Sélection (2004) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Fandango (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Filmtrade (2004) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Golden Village (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Kamras Film Group (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Klock Worx Company, The (Japan) (theatrical)
• Menensha European Films (2003) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• New Yorker Films (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2003) (Canada) (theatrical)
• UGC Films (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Cinefil Imagica (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Divisa Home Video (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Europa Filmes (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Four Films (2005) (Chile) (all media)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• With Cinema (2004) (Korea)

Other Companies

• Atrix Films  world sales
• Arri Rental  camera equipment provided by
• Kodak  film stock

Also Known As:

The Story of the Weeping Camel (International: English title)
The Weeping Camel (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild thematic content.

Runtime:

87 min (25 fps) | 90 min (24 fps) | Hong Kong:93 min (Hong Kong International Film Festival)

Country:

Germany

Language:

Mongolian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-3 | West Germany:o.Al. | Switzerland:8 (canton of the Grisons) | USA:PG | Norway:A | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:PG | Finland:S | Australia:PG | UK:U | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Aimak, Inner Mongolia, China

Company:

Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (HFF)

Trivia:

The program that Ugna enjoys on TV is the Soviet animation classic "Nu, pogodi!" (1969)

Quotes:

Ugna: Mama, if the baby doesn't get its milk from its mother will it die ?
Odgoo: Don't say such a thing, my son.

Movie Connections:

Features "Nu, pogodi!" (1969)

A beautiful film out of time and step with a lesser world outside.

In the Gobi desert, where a nomadic tribe tends its camels like Jay Leno his automobiles, a mother rejects a white calf just delivered with difficulty. The society's initiative to bring mother to nurse the child is the center of an otherwise simple plot. The astounding cinematography (Yes, the desert is stunning even after 90 minutes) and the scrubbed-face happiness of the family are the real stars of this half documentary, half reenactment of a crisis every bit as important to this family as a birth is to a tightly-knit family anywhere in the rest of the world.

And yet a theme appears as I reflect on the happiness of this attractive clan: the emergence of modernism even in Mongolia. In two young men's 50-kilometer journey to find help for the camel, they discover television and computer games. The younger boy, fascinated by the technology, asks his father to purchase a TV. The grandfather gently offers his concern that the boy would be watching fleeting glass images-the case is closed, a powerful reminder of the benign presence of grandparents in this culture, the wisdom of elders, and the fresh-aired innocence of the clan, which will not give itself up easily to modern distractions. Besides, it is abundantly clear they don't need passive entertainment.

The ceremony to reconcile the mother and calf includes primitive music by a teacher and impressive solo singing by a young woman. No one could possibly turn to TV while watching this transcendent act. `Whale Rider's' heightened sense of the magical in the mundane and the unbelievable bond of young and old is the only other recent film I can think of to approach this film's simple power.

`The Story of the Weeping Camel' is as slow as the culture it shows, so be cautious about bringing restless city children. The story lingers on the actual birth of the white calf, possibly disconcerting to the younger, inexperienced members of the audience. Then why do the film's characters get such joy out of the minor warnings I just gave? It is their life, as blessed and happy as any you will see on film or anywhere else on earth.

The camel's soulful cry in the vast desert will stay with you. As Lafcadio Hearn said, `If you ever become a father, I think the strangest and strongest sensation of your life will be hearing for the first time the thin cry of your own child.' And that goes for the mother's cry as well.

A beautiful film out of time and step with a lesser world outside.