Movie Review: ‘Precious Caterpillar’ Traces Journey of Tibetan Harvesters
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By David DeWitt
HOLLYWOOD---Quietly observant, “Precious Caterpillar” is a grass-roots documentary — or a dirt documentary, given that it’s devoted to watching Tibetans dig for caterpillar fungus. That’s the movie.
“Precious Caterpillar,” part of the ContemporAsian film series at the Museum of Modern Art, focuses mostly on Tsondru, a former monk who farms for his livelihood and each year becomes a migrant fungus gatherer. Well meaning though it is, “Precious Caterpillar” is sometimes hard to follow, and only the rare audience member will find it absorbing. But it has a Zen appeal. Sometimes the smallest action — seen just as it is, without elaboration — reveals a broader interdependent reality. Even a system that hinges on the finger-size remains of a grubby insect. [link]
By David DeWitt
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| People bargain at a market in Xining, Qinghai province, for caterpillar fungus. . Courtesy of China Daily. |
“Precious Caterpillar,” part of the ContemporAsian film series at the Museum of Modern Art, focuses mostly on Tsondru, a former monk who farms for his livelihood and each year becomes a migrant fungus gatherer. Well meaning though it is, “Precious Caterpillar” is sometimes hard to follow, and only the rare audience member will find it absorbing. But it has a Zen appeal. Sometimes the smallest action — seen just as it is, without elaboration — reveals a broader interdependent reality. Even a system that hinges on the finger-size remains of a grubby insect. [link]
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