Cave Of The Yellow Dog Review

This follow-up to the Oscar-nominated Mongolian docu-drama The Story Of The Weeping Camel is a sparse documentary tale of nomadic family life. When young Nansal finds a dog in a cave, her father orders her to return it to the wild, but she’s reluctant. That’s almost as far as the narrative goes, and the bond between child and animal is rarely touched upon. Instead, the life of the family is the focus of the film: the children’s games prove endearingly familiar and the parents’ daily duties (washing, sewing, shearing etc.) are filmed with reverence and an eye for colourful detail, the occasional modern implement jarring with their traditional ornate furnishings. A slow, steady and modestly effective slice-of-life feature.