The Cave of the Yellow Dog
  • Studio: Tartan
  • Release Date: Nov 10, 2006
The Cave of the Yellow Dog Image
See the trailer
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 8 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: A Mongolian nomad family find themselves in disagreement when the oldest daughter, Nansal, finds a dog and brings it home. Believing that it is responsible for attacking his sheep, her father refuses to allow her to keep it. When it's time for the family to move on, Nansal must decide whether to defy her father and take her new friend with them. Oscar-nominated director Byambasuren’s follow up to the hugely successful "The Story of the Weeping Camel" is a thought provoking mix of documentary and drama that tells the story of the age-old bond between man and dog, a bond which experiences a new twist through the eternal cycle of reincarnation in Mongolia. (Tartan Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    100
    It's the perfect antidote to overprocessed entertainment, for moviegoers of any age.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    80
    It's not a picture with tremendous drama, and the entirely nonprofessional cast is sometimes a little stiff, but on sheer charm, intimacy and the pictorial wonder of its setting in the wide-open Mongolian grasslands, it's one of the family pictures of the year.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    Sweet isn't a word often used to describe movies these days, but it's one that applies to The Cave of the Yellow Dog.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Sheri Linden
    60
    The film offers fascinating glimpses of a hardworking but unhurried way of life, though it doesn't have the powerful dramatic hook of "The Story of the Weeping Camel."

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. GrantC.
    8
    A beautiful meditation on unhurried nomadic lives. Seeing the day to day existence of the family is more fascinating than the story of the dog, which feels slightly uncomfortably grafted onto the film's straightforward ethnography. I was moved and involved with the whole thing, though, and the film contains many striking and memorable images. A rare film in which you feel your time has been rewarded.… Expand
  2. StevenS.
    7
    Very simplistic story about a family whose eldest daughter finds a dog her father doesn't want her to keep. I would say well-acted, but I think the family essentially just played themselve ... almost more of a snapshot into what life is like on the Mongolian steppes with a simple story attached to make it "interesting". I'm not sure the story was a necessary addition.… Expand
  3. [Anonymous]
    7
    Fascinating glimpses of a way of life little known to most of us. Nicely made film, lovely cinematography, but the storyline is too meager even for minimalist tastes.… Expand

Trailers

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
  1. Star Trek Into Darkness
    Metascore: 72
  2. 42
    Metascore: 62
  3. Iron Man 3
    Metascore: 62
  4. Evil Dead (2013)
    Metascore: 57
  5. Oblivion
    Metascore: 54
  6. The Great Gatsby
    Metascore: 54
  7. Pain & Gain
    Metascore: 43
  8. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
    Metascore: 41
  9. The Host
    Metascore: 35
  10. The Big Wedding
    Metascore: 29
  11. Tyler Perry's Temptation
    Metascore: 27
  12. Scary Movie 5
    Metascore: 11
All Current Movies »