Starring Batzul Khayankhyarvaa and Tsetsegee Byamba. In Mongolian with English subtitles. Unrated. Plays Friday to Monday, December 14 to 17, and Thursday, December 20, at the Pacific Cinémathí¨que

In a world where countless peasant communities are absorbed daily into the least salubrious slums of sprawling, underserviced cities, the situation for nomads is doubly dire. Politics, drought, borders, industrial imperatives–if peasants have it tough, herders have it worse.

In happier times, Bagi (Batzul Khayankhyarvaa) would have become a Mongolian shaman, but he and his family are forced by climate and economics to relocate to the nearest town. Their living conditions aren't too bad, but modern conveniences cannot compensate for the loss of the communal yurt and the dreams that only come to those who wander the open steppes.

Although Khadak isn't short on plot (there's magic, love, family, and crime–all the usual stuff), in the final analysis the film's images are more affecting than the narrative. Few recent motion pictures have been so fully imbued with a spirit of place, and codirectors Peter Brosens and Jessica Hope Woodworth do a great job of showing us what only the initiated know is still there.