The Weeping Camel Reflection

The Weeping Camel takes place in a remote desert in Mongolia known as the Gobi desert. In this isolated area camels are a necessiety as means of food and transportation for the Mongolians. In the beginning of the film the viewer gains direct insight into the simple lifestyle and culture of a family of Mongolians who raise both sheep and camels. Throughout the film one camel becomes pregnant and has a small colt, but after the birth rejects her young camel. Her labor was an extensive two days long and extremely painful. In the film we see how the Mongolian culture reacts to the problematic relationship between the colt and his mother. The family calls upon a professional violinist and they perform a ritual to bring the mother and colt back together.

In this documentary the viewer sees the contrast between the lifestyle of the Monglians and their own life. In the Gobi desert, there are no televisions or cars or bicycles, camels are the primary form of transportation. In relation to one another, they use sheep to bargain with in place of money unless they are in the main city. The poeple in Mongolia value family and their entire family lives together in their small huts. They spend quality time together and help each other out in order to have a successful crop of livestock. In addition to their familial support, they live simply. The family lives in a series of small huts, and wear more traditional outfits than the city people in MOngolia. They value quality family time and being respectful to their elders. The Weeping Camel shows how through their culture they can solve problems that we may not have thought of. Throug simple vocal and violin mehtods they were able to reconnect the mother and her colt. The film shows how a direct contrast between our culture and their culture where technology is limited and simple. In Mongolia they have different values that poeple in the United States, there is more of a focus on family than on anything else.