The filmmakers describe Khadak as a "magical-realist fable," but no matter what you call it, this is a strange, haunting film. Written and directed by Peter Brosens (who's Belgian) and Jessica Woodworth (an American), and shot on the frozen (as in minus 37 degrees Celsius) tundra of Mongolia by an international crew, Khadak tells the story of Bagi (Batzul Khayankhyarvaa), a young shepherd whom his fellow nomads believe to be a nascent shaman (Bagi is also an epileptic, and subject to unsettling visions). When the government falsely claims that the group's herd has fallen victim to some mysterious plague (in a not-so-subtle effort to eradicate their way of life), Bagi and the others are forcibly relocated and set to work in an impossibly bleak and desolate mining town (with its monolithic, Soviet-era apartment structures, this place makes New York's Co-op City look like Shangri-La). Eventually, Bagi meets the lovely Zolzaya (Tsetsegee Byamba) and joins her rebellious musician friends in opposing governmental repression. Khadak is a slow-moving film so full of unforgettable sights (from the stark, muted beauty of the Central Asian steppes to a variety of more surreal, esoteric images) and sounds (the richly varied music occasionally suggests Philip Glass' hypnotic work for Koyaanisqatsi) that it achieves a certain kind of poetry. Not all of the elements here work perfectly, but taken as a whole this original and provocative film is highly recommended. (S. Graham)
Khadak
Lifesize, 101 min., in Mongolian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.98 Volume 23, Issue 3
Khadak
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