Kekexili Mountains Patrol (1993-1996)

Kekexili Mountains Patrol (1993-1996)

A joint product of Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia Ltd & Huayi Brothers and Taile Film Investment Co, Ltd: Based on a real story.

A Personal Review

The arrival of the Chinese journalist named Zhang Lei from Beijing in Ri Tai’s hometown strikes the spark that leads to the ignition of blinding gusts of blizzards and sandstorms through the barren terrains of sandy valleys called Kekexili Mountains in Tibet’s Qinghai province, the domain of patrol head Ri Tai (Duo Bujie) where he eventually got into the hands of those ruthless Tibetan antelopes poachers, of a Muslim ethnicity, from Hualong. He staked his life tracking their foot prints in the treacherous sands despite the shortage of man-power to everything to let run his brave mission without a grain of sand in the gear. A sad ending.

Thanks to the journalist’s tracing a purposeful story material, a grave disorder in the highlands of Tibet. As depicted in the film, his balding bit up from forehead may be the sign of his concerned dedication to what he takes as, a good journalist, which means a tough challenger who is against a glossed over or lousy story; one who deals only with facts, not with guesses. And his being half Tibetan may be the case of his not finding any sort of tussle against the adaptation to highlanders’ way of life like, in the movie, chewing red meat in the extremity of alpine weather, when provisions had already run out.

For me the core message this film carries must have been conveyed to general Chinese public at large. Then no place for indecision here as being the case study done by a Chinese journalist from Beijing, who, too, staked his life so far. The annual poached figure of Tibetan antelopes said in the film as 10,000 is really heartbreaking. And the counting goes up to 500 pelts and trimmed skeletons lying over like a hellish landscape on a single spot. Where is Chinese government now?

So keep up with the movie. Why did Ri Tai work that hard on his own? His patrol group self organized, not officially employed, wasn’t paid adequately then even for their selfless dedications and handing over all they found to the local Chinese authorities, except for the case of desperate needs for their mission that troubled the journalist how to write his article. Is there state monitored such group today? May be there in names only. But I do wish there must be wholehearted Ri Tai’s followers even today gunning their land rovers through the sandy valleys for a mission sublime and elevated.

One of the Ri Tai’s patrol members, the young Tibetan in his early twenties, losing his life in the quicksand en route for their supply of provisions and fuel means his death shouldn’t be judged from the way he acted with his girlfriend back in the village or her personal concern with his easygoing air. He was a brave guy. It means how hard they worked in brotherly union and why? From it I have the impression how a quicksand sucks like a lurking monster.

Like Ri Tai’s patrol union set as our sublime precedent how to protect our motherland we should be dedicative from any single angle to rise up against the venal totalitarian regime’s exploitation of our nature-wealth in the name of state, corporations and (illegal) alchemists and poachers. Take the patrimony set forth by the great group and let us unite to protect our own soils. My sincere solidarity and gratefulness always be with him and his union ever and ever!