MUSIC AND MOVIE REVIEWS
By Kathy DeSantis & Maryel McKinley
MUSIC REVIEW:
The Enchantment
By Gaia Tribe/ Loba,
Jesse Wolf Hardin and Friends
WOW! This is the way music was always meant to be played, presented and
performed.
An eclectic magical blend of indigenous sounds from around the world, including
Southwest sounds, Eurasian flavored melodies, Spanish flamenco, North African
rhythm, Oriental bamboo flutes, Rainforest shamanic chants and more — “The
Enchantment” will mesmerize and whisk you away to places in the heart where you
will long to return to again and again.
The distinctive sounds and sensuous vocals of Loba and the raw percussion of Jesse Wolf Hardin, coupled with Divinely-inspired lyrics and messages that flow forth from this enchanting CD will draw you into a place of wonder and sanctity for Mother Earth and will encourage and enhance an Earth-honoring practice.
Opening with Loba’s invocation and praise for our tribal ancestors — ”Song For
The Ancient Ones,” followed by 19 incredible tracks, this is one CD every person
on a path of integrity must own. Each and every time you listen to this hypnotic
CD, you will experience new and exciting discoveries while being transported
into the infinite realm of Gods and Goddesses, the powers of magic and
transcendent space and time.
Other contributors include Jenny Bird, Carlos Lomas, Joanne Rand, Barbara Mor,
and Ricardo Mendoza. A wonderful coalition of talent wonder and mystery, I rate
this CD a 10.
To order this CD, please contact The Earthen Spirituality Project, PO Box 820, Reserve, NM 87830, or see the website at www.earthenspirituality.org
Review by Dr. Maryel McKinley
MOVIES REVIEW:
The Story of
the Weeping Camel
(English subtitles)
THINKFilm
Filmmakers, Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni, whose fresh talents and
remarkable understanding of an uncharted world, have combined to produce a story
of rare beauty and emotional impact. The movie is a THINKFilm release in
association with National Geographic World Films.
This enchanting new film explores a distant and exotic culture where essential
elements of daily life are family unity (both human and animal), tradition and
survival. The setting is Mongolia’s vast and untouched Gobi desert.
The story follows the drama of a newborn baby camel rejected by its mother and
the family of herders (nomad caretakers) who try desperately to reunite the two
to ensure the baby’s survival.
After a difficult birth in the hot sun, the pure white newborn camel cries incessantly for its mother. Realizing the potential danger to the baby, the family summons a musician to perform a ceremony that actually coaxes the mother camel into accepting her baby and allowing it to nurse. The ritual seemed to have a miraculous side effect. Under the spell of music, the mother camel began to weep as the two were reunited.
Life in the Mongolian desert is simple, yet harsh, and those who live there must yield and adjust to nature. This is a beautiful story about the dependence of the herders on their animals and the animals’ dependence on the family who loves and cares for them.
The story behind the production is almost as interesting as the film itself.
Most unique to the film is its unstaged, unrehearsed sequences with
carefully-prepared re-creations of authentic experience blending the best of
fiction and documentary techniques to capture this almost vanished way of life
for the first time in a dramatic feature.
Visit their movie-like website, see the white baby camel where you can look up
local show times and learn more about the making of this fascinating and unique
movie.
www.weepingcamelmovie.com. Rated PG, running time: 90 minutes
Reviewed by Kathy DeSantis
Return to the July/August Index page