By William Blick.
A survivalist story and an unobtrusive, objective gaze into the bleak lives of dedicated, seemingly forgotten people….”
In a time when the arts and culture are under assault from all angles, artists find a way to survive and thrive. Such is the case with Kurdish film director, Arash Rakhsha, and his first feature-length documentary, All the Mountains Give (2024) which debuted at NYC DOC on November 15, 2024.
The film details the struggles of the laborious and dangerous lives of Kurdish kolbari, who work transporting goods across the borderlands of Iran and Iraq. Considered an illegal action in this region of the world, Kolbari transport goods as common as health and hygiene products, cigarettes, and other items that members of the population depend on to make life live-able.
Often even documentaries can become formulaic, but every once in a while, a documentarian comes along and creates a film that makes you forget you are watching “real life.” Shot on one camera, Rakhsha builds a narrative that creates the illusion that you are watching a scripted film. However, the beautiful cinematography and seamless editing document the all- too-real world of Kolbari-those who risk life and limb in a fight for survival. The results are riveting and staggeringly devastating.
The narrative follows Kolbari, Hamid Alimohamadi and Yasser Dadrast, who work carrying packages of what is considered contraband, across snowy mountain peaks, icy rivers, and barren landscapes to earn what adds up to 1 USD for each Kilo of goods they carry. Usually, they carry 40 Kilos and transport it on their backs, using mules, boats, trucks, and their own ingenuity. Along the way, they must evade Iranian military forces, landmines, and fight against unforgiving weather, treacherous landscapes, and frostbite. All in a day’s work…
The first part of the film details the domestic activities of Hamid and Yasser. Hamid cares for his ailing father and visits his daughter. The 90-minute film seems like 15 minutes as the film is mesmerizing to watch. There are many hauntingly indelible images during the film. These include the crackling fire in the snowy landscape, and the frozen unforgiving mountain peaks, which become the film’s central motif. The dialogue between Hamid and his father, and something as simple as Hamid’s daughter’s birthday are scenarios that are stirring and remind the viewer of the power of the innumerable joys and hardships of living that many of us take for granted.
One of the most powerful scenes in the film is when, on a steep incline, a mule slips and breaks its leg buckling under the weight of packages. Hamid must shoot the animal to spare its misery. The scene becomes a metaphor for the struggle for life that causes many to buckle and fall. Yet the Kolbar trek onwards to provide for their families.
During the New York premiere at DOC NYC, producers Karl Hartman and Kate Bolger noted that the film took six years to complete, and the director actually worked as a Kolbar when he was a young man from ages 18-20. Rakhsha’s family encouraged him to read classic works of literature and was enthusiastic about culture. The film was an unsolicited submission, which were not usually considered. Fortunately for us, the producers agreed to take on the film and provide a platform for Kurdish cinema. Hopefully, this film will pave the way for more entries in Kurdish cinema.
At once, a survivalist story and an unobtrusive, objective gaze into the bleak lives of dedicated, seemingly forgotten people, All the Mountains Give gives a lot and keeps giving long after the last lingering image of the film. It was a privilege to see the raw power of documentary film in full focus.
William Blick is a film and literary/crime fiction critic; a librarian; and an academic scholar. His work has been featured in Senses of Cinema, Film Threat, Cineaction, and CinemaRetro, and he is a frequent contributor to Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of Noircon. His crime fiction has been featured in Close to the Bone, Pulp Metal Magazine, Out of the Gutter, and others. He is an Assistant Professor/Librarian for the City University of New York.