Die Höhle des gelben Hundes (2005)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Byambasuren Davaa

Writers:

Byambasuren Davaa (writer)
Michael P. Greco (adaptation)

Release Date:

28 July 2005 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The little nomad girl Nansal finds a baby dog in the mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend - against all rejections of her parents...

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Nomad | Fear | Vulture | Family Life

Awards:

6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Batchuluun Urjindorj	...	Father
Buyandulam Daramdadi	...	Mother
Nansal Batchuluun	...	Oldest daughter
Nansalmaa Batchuluun	...	Youngest daughter
Babbayar Batchuluun	...	Son
Tserenpuntsag Ish	...	Older woman
Scharav Sumiya	...	First hunter
Battur Lhamsuren	...	Second hunter
Batjargal Ulzidelger	...	Driver

Also Known As:

The Cave of the Yellow Dog (International: English title) (Ireland: English title) (UK)
Der mongolische Hund (Germany) (working title)
Die Höhle des gelben Hundes - Eine Geschichte aus der Mongolei (Germany) (long title)

Runtime:

93 min | Argentina:93 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Germany

Language:

Mongolian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:6 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Argentina:Atp | UK:U | Ireland:G | USA:G | Australia:PG | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

Inner Mongolia, China

Company:

Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (HFF)

Quotes:

Oldest daughter: Will I be reborn as a person in my next life?
Old Woman: Come here, I'll show you something.
[dropping a palm-full of rice grains onto an upward needle]
Old Woman: [handing the needle to the girl] Tell me when a grain of rice balance on the tip of the needle.
Oldest daughter: [dropping rice onto the needle for a while]
Old Woman: [chuckles]
Oldest daughter: That's impossible!
Old Woman: See, my child? That's how hard it is to be born again as a person. That's why a human life is so valuable.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "At the Movies: (2006-09-27)" (2006)

An Underlying Sadness

Critics seem to have missed an important underlying message of the film: the life of the nomads is incompatible with the modern world and it is inescapable for this particular family, no matter how much they may want to move on. From the moment the returned child builds up the heap of dried dung to resemble flats we know she longs for the town. The parents talk of moving there when their daughter returns to school, but the father cannot earn enough to support them. His herdsmen friends talk of the number of people already gone. There is a lot of symbolism here, of which the melted scoop is only one, as well as spoken hints of a fate that traps people within it. As the older sibling tells the baby, 'You can't play with God.' (or, apparently, alter fate)The basket becomes a prison - literally, when the girl places it over the dog at one point - and the world of the steppes is dangerous, full of wolves, vultures and even storms. For all it's picturesque scenery and domestic charm, this is a redundant life, for which any political change will come too late; only the children will have a chance to leave - the symbolic yellow dog(s) of the wise woman's story, which the parents will need to sacrifice.