On DVD: Khadak

 

 

Directed by Peter Brosens and Jessica Hope Woodworth

Starring Batzul Khayankhyarvaa, Tsetsegee Byamba

 

Another film from Mongolia? Count me in. I just love films from this country. The country is breathtakingly beautiful and the culture is fascinating to me. Khadak was recently released on DVD by Life Size Entertainment and I happily gave it a spin in the old DVD player.

 

The Movie

 

The film opens as we are introduced to a young man named Bagi (Batzu Khayankhyarvaa). He lives with his mother and grandfather in the desert and he works every day on the the family’s sheep and other livestock. Until, one day he goes out to find a missing sheep and falls into a coma alone in a field. He is found by his grandfather and the only person that can bring him out of the coma is a local shamaness (female shamen). She tells him he has a destiny as a shamen and that his dead ancestors are calling for him.

He doesn’t believe this prophecy at first and just returns to herding.

 

Until one day, the government arrives in trucks and tells his family that there is an animal plague and they must pack up at once and be relocated to a government work and residence facility. All of their animals, they are told, are going to be destroyed.

 

Life is depressing at the government facility. He and his family are given jobs destroying the land around them endlessly mining for coal. Bagi periodically has seizures and blackouts and within these times, he has visions of the future for himself, his family and Mongolia in general. The future is bleak. He knows what is happening to Mongolia isn’t right and that by the government forcing the citizens from agriculture to industrialization, the very nature and history of their people is being destroyed, one piece of coal at a time.

 

He meets a young woman who is a coal thief and it is from this fateful meeting that Bagi’s life and destiny changes. She introduces him to her political resistance group and even though he has a brief stay in a mental institution, Bagi escapes and completes his journey to discover his true destiny. But, will Bagi and his family ever get to return to their more simple way of life?

 

Khadak is a beautiful and surreal film. It’s main influences seem to be the films of Fellini with a big dose of the films Koyaanisqatsi and Baraka.  The story is told in a very dreamlike way, but the message is very clear. The people of Mongolia’s love of nature, animals and simple living is clear in every film that comes out of that country.

 

I also wanted to note that the cinematography in this film is eye popping. If it was possible to make Mongolia look even more mysterious and beautiful, this film achieves that.

 

If you are a fan of the film mentioned above or are just a fan of Mongolian culture, Khadak can’t be missed. If you aren’t, I’m not sure this surreal film is going to be your cup of tea. But, my oh my, it certainly hit all the sweets spots for me.

 

8/10

 

The Video

 

Khadak is presented in widescreen. The colors are very vibrant with a nice depth to the color black. I did not notice any instances of grain or artifacts.

 

7/10

 

The Audio

 

Khadak is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 in Mongolian with English subtitles.  The dialogue is crystal clear with the dialogue easily understood and well balanced. Although, I did have a bit of trouble with the subtitle option, I am not sure if it was just a problem with my disc or a problem with all discs.

 

7/10

 

The Packaging and Bonus Features

 

Khadak is presented in a standard amaray case with artwork that captures the spirit of the film nicely.

 

A short “making of” featurette is offered. It provides some interesting insight into the film and reveals that this is the only Mongolian film shot entirely in winter. For that fact alone, all the actors and film crew deserve an award.

 

The bonus features are not plentiful so the score is a bit low in this category. But, the one that is offered is enjoyable albiet brief.

 

6/10

  

Overall (Not an Average) 7.5/10

The Review

The Series 8/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 6/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7.5/10

 

Suzie Lackey