Hot Docs Report: 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep REVIEW

Originally residing in the Pamir region of northern Afghanistan, The Kirghiz tribe, originally sandwiched between the Soviets and the English, soon found themselves on the run from the Soviets into China, where they soon found themselves on the run from the Maoists, only to again run from the Soviets in Afghanistan to Pakistan, where desperate and unsuited to the warm climate, they accepted an offer to relocate to southern Turkey, but not before an amusingly bizarre offer from the ‘Men in Black’ to relocate to Alaska. This tale of never-ending roaming unbearable even by the traditionally nomadic Pamir Kirghiz is told particularly well by the charismatic elders of the tribe, but less well in the reconstruction filmed with the aid of the tribe at large. Kitchy but forced, they over-egg a simple story otherwise told beautifully, but most deserving of being dropped are the ‘observations into the process of filmmaking’ that accompany them, which distract from topic of the film.

These few flaws aside this film is a powerful look into the erosion of a tribe and its culture by not only their continuous upheaval but their new static life in Turkey. The young Pamir Kirghiz prefer Istanbul and television to mountain ranges and dead goat polo, and the elders lament the loss of their traditions in the face of progress. This is a highly recommended documentary for viewers looking for the kind of story they’d otherwise never be told.