In the sprawling mountain reserve of Kekexili, western China, a volunteer mountain patrol forms to track down a band of illegal wildlife poachers - by any means necessary. Led by the enigmatic commander Ri Tai, the patrol heads into the exquisite virgin wilderness, with minimal resources but no shortage of cunning and commitment. The patrol is accompanied by Beijing journalist Ga Yu, who soon realises that the patrol will stop at nothing, even selling the very hides of animals it hoped to save, to protect its homeland. Commander Ri Tai will even risk his men's lives to catch and defeat his nemesis, the equally ruthless head of the poachers. With an iconic grandeur and sense of foreboding that Peckinpah would be proud of, this true-life epic takes full advantage of the awesome natural environment - the dust storms, snow storms, the broad horizons and herds of roaming antelope - to create a Western for our times. [Kekexili] was a major hit throughout Asia and at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals. ---D Lu Chuan P Wang Zhongjun S Lu Chuan WS Sony Pictures Releasing International L Mandarin, Tibetan TD 35mm/col/2004/92mins Lu Chuan was born in Xinjiang, China, in 1970. His films are [Missing Gun] (2001), [Kekexili: Mountain Patrol] (2004).