The Keriya

The sands do not shift in Pengfei Shen and Ji Lin’s understated documentary.

“I hope my children don’t care about me and have a life they want.”

I saw this documentary on a plane to China, two months ago. I mention this because it’s rare that I watch a film, write a review for it, and then am so bored by it that I can’t be bothered to re-read and post it until weeks have passed. I feel a bit bad for slamming this film as hard as I’m going to, because it’s not actively terrible, and you also can see the good intentions from the director of what he wants to do. Let’s dive in.

As its name suggests, The Keriya is a documentary about the people who share their name with the river that runs through the Taklamakan Desert, especially those who live in the oasis town Daliyabuyi. The film follows the lives of the citizens, notably young adult Kurbanhan, who is the first in her family to study at university. The film jumps around from person to person, capturing their every day lives, documenting just how often parents hope their kids will abandon them and leave for a better life elsewhere.

It’s an odd, bleak film that isn’t entirely sure if it wants to celebrate the simple, straightforward lives of the people, or have its audience pity them. The film is never clear, often seeming like it doesn’t know what it’s doing.

The Keriya could be a captivating documentary if it actually had anything to say. The issue is that it sticks a camera in the middle of the town, follows a handful of people around, and just hopes something interesting will happen. But as Matkurban, the goatherder of 50 years reminds us, he’s been driving goats to the city every year and nothing – nothing – has ever happened. No, I lie. At one point, six goats did die.

There is the hint of a story throughout: the at-risk future of the town. As the story progresses, we see how  Kurbanhan is adapting to life in the city, and there is much talk by the end of the film of relocating everyone in the town. The film leaves it open, but it’s worth noting that two years after the film was released, all of its residents did abandon it, leaving  ghost town where the original Daliyabuyi once stood.

It’s something? But the film itself doesn’t dive into this possible future, now current reality. It showed a town meeting, where people talked about moving, and then didn’t follow up in any meaningful way. Without a through line or a narrative or point the film languishes with extended sequences of characters putting a quilt on the bed of a truck.  

Nothing happens. It’s infuriating. It’s less a slice of life and more just scattered crumbs of life with dollop of time-lapse footage of the desert to pad it out. Dialogue is constantly repeated, and shots end up as variations on a theme. The people have their charm, and the scenery is gorgeous, but The Keriya – unlike the people it films – goes absolutely nowhere.

Verdict: As dry as the desert it films, The Keriya’s gorgeous landscape shots combine with a tedious film style that makes it the perfect movie to fall asleep to.

Overall entertainment: 5/10
Violence: Nothing ever happens/10
Sex: Nothing ever happens/10
Goats needed for a wedding feast: At least 8. And 2 spare.
Police day: Apparently you gotta call your parents
Screenshots: I saw this on a plane, and can’t find the film anywhere. So this review will be without images.

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The Keriya (2017)
Chinese

Directors: Pengfei Shen, Ji Lin