The Wolves Always Come at Night

My first taste of the Perth Festival schedule for the coming season was a 'hybrid' film called The Wolves Always Come at Night, directed by Gabrielle Brady. The term 'hybrid' really just seems to mean tweaking the traditional methods of documentary production, in this case, adding some clearly set-up shots and situations, but also, calling on the subjects to help in the writing process. This film is about a family of goat farmers in Mongolia whose difficult existence is made even harder by an unforeseen event that forces them to relocate to the city.

The family are led by mother, Zaya Dashzeveg and father, Davaa Dagvasuren, and Brady made the film with their input in mind. She says;

Our intention was that Davaa and Zaya have agency within the making of their own story. So, in working together as co-writers, we were able to shape the story together. They would share ideas for what could be filmed and I would translate this into the cinematic language for the film.

It's this co-authoring that explains the hybrid nature of the film. This works quite well, but I admit to having reservations - especially when the more fantastical elements are brought into play. Obviously, no documentary can be pure documentation - production choices are made throughout - but I felt the gnawing knowledge of the less observational aspects took me out of the film a wee bit.

The tone does feel authentic, though, from the birthing goats to the crucial sand storm. The Wolves shares a lot of DNA with the brilliant Honeyland from a few years ago, and also Aki Kaurismäki, particularly his most recent, Fallen Leaves.

Cinematographer, Michael Latham gives us a smorgasbord of fantastic images, especially of running horses and the vast Mongolian steppes. It's a very impressive job, given the presumably tiny budget. The 'cast' is a very endearing family, and it's great to spend time in their company, the emotions seem real, especially when they're faced with Hobson's choice - to stay in the desolate countryside or try their luck in the equally grimy outskirts of the city. 

The world-wide environmental emergency is brought into stark relief as they struggle to make ends meet, while still maintaining a semi-positive outlook. The pull of the their homeland remains. This is worth watching, especially if, like me, you haven't seen many Mongolian films. Could have done with more wolves, though...

The Wolves Always Come at Night is screening at the Perth Festival on Dec 9 & 10 at Somerville UWA.

See also:

Can't go past Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov's Honeyland (2019) for a similar feel, and the only other Mongolian film I've seen (I think) is The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003), directed by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni.