Rating of
3.5/4
Kekexili (Chuan Lu, China)
PunkGeisha - wrote on 08/28/10
Despite the obvious strain and diplomatic and political nuances it has with mainland China, Taiwan awarded this film with the highest honor in 2004 and watching it will tell us why.
The film is a story of Beijing journalist Ga Yu who went to a remote Tibetan village to do a story on a group of Tibetan Patrol who went on an incredible journey of danger, discovery and test of strength and mental will to apprehend a group of poachers and save the dwindling population of the Tibetan Antelopes. He came to know and befriend the group especially its leader, Ri Tai ( played superbly by Tibetan actor Duobuji) The chase went on for days and they faced different kind of adversaries, the most dangerous being the environment itself, the mountains, the remote snow covered paths and of course the poachers who far outnumber them in men, firearms and vehicles.
The very first thing that you will probably feel after watching this film is that of sadness, and frustration and that heavy feeling inside much like when you have something to say so bad yet cannot. It is a powerful movie to say the least, visceral and stabs hard at the guts. The cinematography is beautiful and the environment though awesome is yet utterly dangerous and remote and casts the most danger to the lives of the men trapped in its icy and unforgiving landscape. The beauty is coupled with the harshness and brutality of the men who survives this very remote place in the Tibetan highlands and the tenacity of those men patrolling the lands to save the antelopes. Ordinary men who aren't paid by the government to do this. They are not even advocates of any NGOs. Just ordinary simple men, driven by their sincere desire to protect what they have and what their land has.
One thing that would stick in your mind would be the seemingly harsh customs and traditions of these people which tends to mirror the harshness of its environment [ especially how they tend to the body of their loves ones and how they send them over to the next life. Dismembering and chopping them up to pieces to be fed to the vultures is just a bit too much for some but watching how these people live under dire circumstances who are we to judge?]
Definitely a good watch, highly recommended . This is not a feel good movie. Brutal and raw, but definitely a good watch. One of the best from Mainland China.
A tribute to the real story of that last patrol who made a difference, at the expense of their own lives.
