Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Khadak

The writing and directing team of Belgian Peter Brosens and American Jessica Woodworth made their narrative debut with this fable set in Mongolia. After a young nomad and his family is uprooted from their home and relocated to mining town, he falls for a rebellious young woman who helps him discover a conspiracy. While the intentions of the filmmakers are noble, the story and film fails to deliver due to its own ambitions that's plagued by heavy symbolism and unconventional story that's neither authentic nor universal. Shooting a film in Mongolia with a native cast doesn't make it necessarily a Mongolian film as this film proves because its treatment of characters and stories are inherently Western at the core. Plenty of Western filmmakers travel to remote locations to make films that pretends to be from that country which makes for an easier entry in the festival circuit which is disingenuous. 1001 Films' coverage of films on DVD.

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