About dogs and camels

Mark and I rented a beautiful movie recently, "The Cave of the Yellow Dog". As the director said herself in an interview, the story can be told in one single sentence: A little girl finds a dog and wants to keep it, but her father is opposed. The father in the movie is a nomad who lives in the mountains of Mongolia. What makes the movie so wonderful is the whole setting, the gorgeous landscape, the way family life is run in their tent, the vivid and joyfull mind of the little girl. The movie takes time to show it all and has such a warm and lovely spirit. And it made me wonder about the lives of the nomads. How to they value their lives? Do they feel rich or poor? Or don’t they think in those terms. What are their worries? What makes them happy? For the little girl it’s her dog, and she can keep it, in the end.

Because we so loved the movie, Mark and I saw another one of the same director this evening. It’s called "The story of the weeping camel" and is also set in Mongolia. In the family of shepherds there’s a little camel born, but the mother does not want to feed her young. After several tries, the family asks for help from a music teacher. They sing and play the violin for mother and calf in an attempt to reconnect their bond. And that works out fine. Again, we saw the cozy family life of the nomad people and the way the lead their lives in the Gobi dessert. In between the sandstorms and endless horizons. How the little boy wants a television and grandpa doesn’t like these modern things. Like my own would have said.

So if you want a nice evening, slow down, and experience warm feelings that resonate through you, like the songs through the camel, go watch these movies.