Cranleigh Film Club is showing The Cave of the Yellow Dog (U) on Thursday 27 December starting at 7.30pm; doors open at 7.00pm. As usual our film will be shown in the Band Room, GU6 8AF, and there is ample parking in the adjacent Village Way car park.
The Cave of the Yellow Dog (U)
A gentle and touching ‘feel-good’ fable of family life set in the steppes of Mongolia – quite different from a western Christmas! A tale of a little girl, a little dog, and the lessons of life – a fresh cinematic experience. A young nomad girl, Nansal, finds a small dog on the steppes and it becomes her best friend – against her parents’ wishes. She names it Zochor (‘Spot’). One day she loses sight of Zochor and, searching for it, encounters an old woman who tells her the legend of the cave of the yellow dog. Nansal learns a lesson about the value of life and its constantly moving cycle. A heart-warming, life-affirming film made with the real Batchuluun family none of whom had acted before. Its richness lies in its straightforward and quiet tone.
The director, Byambasuren Davaa, is Mongolian. Her films tell stories of traditional nomadic life. She spent months living with the family in northwest Mongolia to make them comfortable with the filming. She had previously made The Story Of The Weeping Camel (2003), also about the ‘rhythm of life’, in which nomadic shepherds try to save the life of a bactrian calf rejected by its mother.
Thomas Dawson, BBC, wrote: “Davaa focusses on the details of the Batchuluuns’ hardworking life, their tireless adaptation to nature. The Buddhist cycle of reincarnation is central. Taking its title from a fable delivered to Nansal by an old woman, The Cave of the Yellow Dog is an unhurried story of a culture whose future is imperilled by the migration of its members to the (off-screen) city.”
Nine wins in film festivals.
Membership costs £30 per year, covering all 12 films. To join please email your details to saralock1950@ btinternet.com. We make a £5 charge for guests at each film. Do come along and enjoy the atmosphere!
