Search - Khadak on DVD

"I Left my Body In A Dark Corner ~ The Future Is Only Possib

Brian E. Erland | Brea, CA - USA | 06/15/2008

(5 out of 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!"

A Surreal Dreamwork from Mongolia

Cineteca Pilipinas | Lapu Lapu, Philippines | 03/29/2008

(4 out of 5 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."

Authentic shamanism in ruptured culture

Lesley Thomas | the ether | 04/14/2008

(5 out of 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"

Beautiful, revelatory cinema...

Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 05/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"[ n.b. - The plot elements I mention in this review reveal little more about the film than you might read on the DVD box, or from viewing a trailer... ]

KHADAK is a incredibly beautiful, mind-blowing film that will take the viewer to another world - it offers rare insights into a culture about which most people in the West (or most of the planet, for that matter), I'll wager, know very little...Mongolia. Critics have called it `stunning' and `beautiful and mysterious', and comparisons to Fellini have been made. The story is set in the present day, but it is rife with customs and beliefs that go back for thousands of years. Using magical-realist imagery and time-shifting, non-linear storytelling techniques (which, for me, brought to mind the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, Theo Angelopoulos and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, as well as the aforementioned Federico Fellini), the directors plunge the audience into the story they're telling - and while it is firmly planted in its setting, it has lessons to convey to all of us, if we will but pay attention and let it wash over us.

The center of the film is Bagi, a young man who lives with his mother and grandfather on the frigid steppes of Mongolia - they herd sheep to survive and have little contact with the outside world, although they are not unaware of its existence. One day they and their far-flung neighbors are contacted by representatives of the government who inform them, with little ceremony, compassion or subtlety, that all of their animals are infected with an unnamed `plague' and must be destroyed. Bagi's family, along with the others in the area, are to be forcibly relocated to more modern environs and assimilated into the workforce there. Needless to say, this is a traumatic turn of events for these people - Bagi's grandfather, for one, has a very hard time accepting the terms and form of this abrupt change in lifestyle.

Bagi, we learn, is subject to visions of varying intensity, the meanings of which are unknown to him - for that matter, he views them with not only skepticism but an attitude bordering on disdain. He looks upon the traditional spiritual beliefs of his people as quaint and useless. Shamanism plays a huge part in their lives - represented in the case of Bagi's area by an old woman. She is called upon by his family to heal him after he goes in search of a lost sheep and is later found almost frozen to death. The ceremonies and treatments she brings forth to return him to health are fascinating to watch. After he regains his consciousness and his strength, she informs him that his ancestors are `calling' to him - she recognizes within him an inherited ability that allows him frequent and intense contact with the spirits of those who have gone before, as well as the potential to be a healer and leader for his people.

He rejects these ideas initially, until several turns of events cause him to come to the realization that the `animal plague' is a hoax perpetrated by the government in order to force the relocation and assimilation of the nomadic herding families. In his new town, living with his mother and grandfather, Bagi takes a job as a mail carrier - he now utilizes a motorcycle instead of his beloved pony, which he had to leave behind in the countryside. One day he meets a strong-willed, independent young woman who is arrested for stealing coal - he finds himself drawn to her in ways that he does not understand. She is also a performance artist - one of the most visually (and audibly) striking scenes in the film centers on a presentation by this young woman and her friends / collaborators.

Bagi eventually finds himself believing more in his gifts and developing his control of them, as well as feeling more and more compelled to utilize them to pass the truth of the situation along to the other relocated families, to rally them to rise up and oppose the lies they have been told, and to encourage them to return to the lives and the lands they knew before. As a result, he comes into greater and greater conflict with the authorities - they view him not only as a troublemaker and lawbreaker, but as someone who is quite possibly mentally ill or afflicted with epilepsy (the story they give him to quash his belief in his own spiritual gifts). He comes to understand that telling the truth sometimes comes accompanied by a high price - but also that the truth is something of incalculable importance and power.

The film has an almost dream-like feel to it - but that shouldn't be taken to mean `slow'. It holds the attention from first to last - striking imagery, both arresting and stunningly beautiful, adds to the effect of the story upon the viewer. The directors - I understand this is their first feature - have achieved a cinematic miracle with KHADAK. The film gives the audience a glimpse into a culture that is largely unknown outside of Mongolia, and at the same time tells a story that has vital relevance for anyone anywhere in the world, with the potential to engender both courage and strength in the face of adversity and insensitivity.

Check out the film's website - there, you can read more about the film, view still images, read about the crew, as well as about the directors' next project (it looks like it will be stunning as well). KHADAK is an experience you will neither forget nor regret.
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