''Black Milk'' (german: Schwarze Milch) is a 2020 German-Mongolian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Uisenma Borchu Uisenma Borchu ( mn, Борхүүгийн Үйзэнмаа; born Borkhüügiin Uizenmaa; 1 June 1984) is a Mongolian-German film maker and film actress. In 1989, she moved with her family from Communist Mongolia to East Germany—which was on the ...

. It was selected to be shown in the Panorama section at the

70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director C ...

Plot

Two sisters meet again after decades of separation. At a young age Wessi moved to Germany, while Ossi stayed in Mongolia. Their world is turned upside down when Wessi returns to the Gobi Desert. Even after all these years the bond between both sisters has remained strong but the culture clash is causing tension. Wessi immediately wants to fully participate in the harsh nomadic life and admires Ossi's everyday skills. Ossi, on the other hand, seems overwhelmed by Wessi's modern attitude towards life and is even more unsettled when she realizes her sister is falling in love with the older neighbor. Wessi is desperate for his love and, as the rebel of the family, does not care about the traditions she didn't grew up with. A fight for love and recognition begins.

Cast

* Gunsmaa Tsogzol as Ossi *

as Wessi *

Franz Rogowski Franz Rogowski (; born 2 February 1986) is a German actor and dancer. He has appeared in films directed by Michael Haneke, Christian Petzold and Terrence Malick. Life and career Franz Rogowski was born in 1986 in Freiburg im Breisgau, West Germ ...

as Franz * Terbish Demberel as Terbish * Borchu Bawaa as Boro

Reception

Kaleem Aftab of ''Cineuropa'' wrote in the Berlinale Panorama Review on 'Black Milk' that

brilliantly deconstructs her life in Germany, the dominance of the male gender, and the almost colonial dismissal of her desire to go and visit her sister in Mongolia, a country she left as a small child. Aftab said Black Milk is a work that confounds expectations and gives insights into the myriad influences that Wessi has. It's a unique perspective in cinema, but one that will be recognised by the very many who feel othered because of their heritage, who have one foot each in two different boats that are seemingly travelling in different directions. On the visual style of the movie Aftab wrote that the cinematography of Sven Zellner captures the vast landscape and beauty, but also offers a darker and more raw view of a land that is so often romanticised on film. Deborah Young of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote that the tech work of 'Black Milk' is warm and modern, beginning with DP Sven Zellner's switch-hitting between open air vistas and the dreamlike intimacy of the women indoors and in their fantasies. The use of slight jump cuts speeds things up nicely.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Milk 2020 films 2020 drama films German drama films 2020s German-language films Mongolian-language films Mongolian drama films 2020 multilingual films German multilingual films