Elsewhere Part II
2h 8m
Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter • Documentary • 2010 • 129 minutes
An homage to humanity, ELSEWHERE is a nuanced portrait of life - fragile and resilient - at the start of the 21st century. The episodes in Part II are - July – Ladakh/India It is Tsewang Dolma’s turn to cook lunch today. She is standing over the fire next to the small Buddhist temple on one of the planes of the step-like mountain slope in the western part of Ladakh, boiling rice in a big pot. People finish their prayers and begin eating, as others, who were busy watering the soil, climb up from the lower terraces to join them. The main conversation still revolves around their previous visit to the most important Buddhist festival of the summer months held at the Hemis Monastery, which they all attended. Even though it is a busy time of year on the fields, nobody wanted to miss out on that trip. Tsewang will walk up the mountain tomorrow to visit the people who have to take care of the cattle at the higher-lying pasture and did not have a chance to attend. August – Kante Ko Jawun/Russia The helicopter makes a landing at the shore of the small lake behind Josip’s house. Josip, his son Volodya, and the pilot pack the things they had previously prepared in the helicopter and soon the three take off again. From high up in the air Josip looks out for the most suitable building site for his next house. Josip and his family live on herding reindeer as well as compensations they receive from the oil companies that found his Chanty land to be rich in resources. But since their reindeer have become weaker and suffer from unknown diseases, it seems as if the money could not make up for the damage done to the land, Josip yells out to the pilot over his headset and points out a good landing spot. The bags and gear put down on the ground mark the place for the new building site,...