Khadak
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Movie Reviews of Khadak
Movie Review: "I Left my Body In A Dark Corner ~ The Future Is Only Possiblity"
Summary: 5 Stars
Note: Contrary to the "Product Details" information this DVD is presented in Mongolian with English subtitles.
If there was ever a film that successfully captured the essence of the shamanic spirit this is the film. Released in '06, the Belgian production `Khadak' (meaning: The Color of Water) transports the audience not only to the remote, barren world of the Mongolian steppes but into an interior, archaic landscape accessed only through the ancient, shamanic practices of the traditional pastoral people of that region.
Unfortunately this is not a film that will attract a large, appreciative audience. Unless you have a working knowledge of the core elements of the shamanic worldview you will have a difficult time following the storyline.
Things you need to be familiar with if you're to fully enjoy this film:
- Spirit of Place
- Ancestral dreaming
- Shamanic drumming
- Out-of-body travel
- Soul retrieval
Also required are an understanding of viable `Doorways to the Otherworld' that allow a shaman to travel to other planes of existence such as a hole in the earth, or a body of water. Not to leave out the most important of all, the World Tree or `Axis Mundi' is a central figure in this film and to miss its meaning is to misunderstand the central message of the film.
Having said all that I would also challenge those unfamiliar with the archaic spiritual dimension to give `Khadak' a try anyway. There are several more accessible storylines you might enjoy such as the political ramifications of uprooting the old ways with forced modernity as well as a bittersweet romance between the young shaman Bagi (Batzul Khayanhyarvaa) and the beautiful Zolzaya (Tsetsegee Byamba).
Beyond the storyline `Khadak' is a visual gem complimented by a wonderfully melancholy and haunting soundtrack filled with pathos and urgency that will pull the audience further into the films mystical landscape.
Postscript: I couldn't end my review without mentioning Tserendarizav Dashnyam who played the old shamaness instructing young Bagi in the ancient ways. She was perfect for the role!
Movie Review: authentic shamanism in ruptured culture
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is beautiful, mystical, sad, mysterious, and a real find for film buffs. One of the blurbs says "Fellini-esque" and I agree.
It is worth it for scenes of the Mongolian landscape alone. It is also a treasure for any serious scholar of shamanism, or the effects of forced assimilation from earth based ways to slave wage labor, sedentary life in high rise apartments, and the devastation of ecosystem, spirituality and community on nomadic/indigenous societies that we see all over the world from Mongolia to Congo to Australia to the Arctic. I love the hopeful ending, as the stunned people learn to resist. Another thing I love about this film it is made by the people themselves: Mongolians.
I agree with the prior review: see Dersu Uzala as a companion film, and also the Inuit The Fast Runner - DVD, the AboriginalTen Canoes and At Play in the Fields of the Lord.
~ Lesley Thomas, author of arctic shaman novel Flight of the Goose
Movie Review: WOW! Absolutely stunning - a perfect film in my eyes...
Summary: 5 Stars
Like another reviewer here, my rental of this film was completely arbitrary - and like that reviewer, what a surprise!
First off this film is visually stunning. Absolute and complete beauty and brilliance. I don't think I'll ever forget the Mongolian string band scene. Ever. Emotionally captivating as well.
This film's creators have another one coming, Fragments of Grace - like Khadak, it uses real historical circumstances to create a fictitious story, this time in the Andes, and I cannot wait.
Box office hits are fun and all, but this is artistic, beautiful film making at its best. Way to go, cast and crew. Do yourself a favor and watch the 'extras' on this DVD and learn more about the people who made this film.
Movie Review: culture collision
Summary: 4 Stars
Producers and writers Peter Brosens and Jessica Hope Woodworth combine bleak realism and artistic surrealism in this film set on the frigid Mongolian steppe. The teenager Bagi and his family are nomadic herders who are forcibly relocated by the government under the ruse of a plague. They are resettled in a grimy mining town where monster machines gash coal from the earth, dilapidated high rises loom out of the barren landscape, and steamy smoke belches from every chimney. As a youngster on the Mongolian steppe, Bagi had seizures. A shamaness in the desert interpreted this as a spiritual gift; in the government hospital, doctors in white coats called it epilepsy. In Bagi's clairvoyance and premonitions, time, space and relations get rearranged in a collision of worldviews that is both literal and deeply figurative. Khadak has earned awards from Sundance, Venice, and Toronto film festivals. In Mongolian with English subtitles.Movie Review: A Surreal Dreamwork from Mongolia
Summary: 4 Stars
A totally arbitrary choice of rental...but, oh, what a find. If you like a straightforward story, without confusion or ambiguity, then avoid this film. If you're a foreign film addict, love Tarkovsky and Bergman...then this is a jewel. Set to a beautiful Kronos-quartet style score, this film takes place during the winter in Mongolia. Under the false auspices (spoiler) of an animal pandemic, a group of nomads are forced out of their homes (urts) and nomadic life in order to work as coal miners. A young, nomadic shaman attempts to change the status quo. Buy Kurosawa's "Dersu Uzala" for a great companion piece.
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