Written and directed by Lu Chuan who follows up his frantic debut The Missing Gun in a completely different style and within its harsh shooting locale, Kekexili: Mountain Patrol is a grand, angry, disturbing but calm, experience. Showcasing one of many world problems now thankfully solved, it's still a harrowing portrait of emotionless greed and how the humane needs to fight the inhumane with questionable tools. Taking details from the actual article that arose great attention in China upon publishing in 1996, Lu Chuan is obviously preaching that there may very well have to exist hypocrisy in a good cause, as long as it's solved. With his incredibly immersing subtle outbursts, be it in violence or emotionally, it's a low-key, uplifting, dark piece that is easy to grasp, easy to sympathize with and easy to praise. Also a movie up for debate, Lu has not chosen a middle ground for his opinions, which could serve as a potential warning. Nonetheless, how ever much hardships the enemies in the film MAY have endured before going on a financially winning path, it still doesn't make the extermination of antelopes right. It seems to go far beyond a need and well into evil.

The unknown actors do a marvelous job commanding their particular part of the frame, especially Duo Bujie and the eerie old man played by Ma Zhanlin. A surprise winner at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards (Mainland Chinese films rarely gets the top honors), the film was handed the Best Picture and Best Cinematography statuettes.