Springtime in the Gobi Desert, South Mongolia. A family of nomadic shepherds assists the births of their camel herd. One of the camels has an excruciatingly difficult delivery but, with help from the family, out comes a rare white calf. Despite the efforts of the shepherds, the mother rejects the newborn, coldly refusing it her milk and her motherly love. When any hope for the little one seems to have vanished, the nomads send their two young boys on a journey through the desert, in search of a musician... Finally a violinist is summoned to the camp and a breathtaking ritual is performed. The archaic sound of the horse-head violin along with the melodic singing of one of the women find a way into the mother camel's heart: when her young is brought to her again, she breaks into tears and finally allows it the milk it needs to survive.

MOVIE REVIEW

One of the feature-length documentaries nominated at this year's Academy Awards, "The Story of the Weeping Camel" is a justly-praised film, one that might not be as powerful as the winning "Born Into Brothels" but moving nonetheless.
Read our Story of the Weeping Camel, The movie review »