A nation's bumpy ride to modernity
As the wind whips across the Gobi desert it carries with it the call of the city. Shot over ten years, this moving doc follows the lives of Mongolians as they grapple with their ancient culture skyrocketing into modernity. The Mongolian Dream: from hardcore socialism to a market economy in record time. Evocative cinematography captures a people uprooted from the culture that has provided the pulse of their existence for centuries.
Habae is of Kazakh descent, and he hunts with eagles. He embodies the mutual respect that exists between man and eagle, borne out by his anguish when his eagle becomes lost in a snowstorm. "I treat it like my child." Teenager Ole sings in a boy band Mbros and dreams of megastardom: "You have to have a dream." Uuganaa is medical student and DJ who radiates energy and charisma: "My priority right now is to improve my knowledge." Baatar is rooted to the land his parents lived on: "Gobi is like an unsolved riddle."
Mongolia underwent a peaceful transition to democracy after 70 years of Communism, thanks no doubt to the peaceful nature of its people. Now they are living the dream, they have choices, but life is no less hard. Once there was no poor, no begging for money in gutters, no homeless. Baatar makes a living scraping at the red desert with hands and pick to reveal dinosaur eggs, which he sells on the black market. The earth still gives up ancient treasures thanks to the respect Mongolians have shown for nature. The old used to say "You should walk barefoot on the grass, you shouldn't break a single stem." Now encroaching industry is starting to affect the nomadic lifestyle.
Ten years on Ogo lives in San Francisco, working all hours to pay for his studies. He misses the care-free days of his youth. Baatar has left his "backwater" life behind, blown to the city like desert sand, but he seems to have lost heart too. His wife is ill and can no longer work with him, her workbench standing quiet and forlorn. By contrast, Uuganaa's energy is not dimmed. She has her own clinic and TV show, living proof that the dream is real if only you can reach out and grasp it. "People know me, people respect me." Dashing from the studio to do blood analysis at her clinic, she still finds time to be a mother to her young son "the sunshine of my life." In Mongolia, family is all. Unlike the US, laments Ogo, where the most important thing is the self.
Only Habae has stayed where we first found him, content with his lot, his eagle back at his side. He now imparts the ancient knowledge he possesses to his son."Horses don't get nervous around eagles because eagles are divine." He urges his son to go "just slowly, no rush" which seems to be a metaphor for the whole film. In a land where religion was banned for so long, Habae prays to the "mountains and water" to protect his family.
The film whispers many quiet truths... Children are like the "sun's rays". Faith in the land will see you through. "He who doesn't know his history is like a monkey lost in a forest."
Habae is of Kazakh descent, and he hunts with eagles. He embodies the mutual respect that exists between man and eagle, borne out by his anguish when his eagle becomes lost in a snowstorm. "I treat it like my child." Teenager Ole sings in a boy band Mbros and dreams of megastardom: "You have to have a dream." Uuganaa is medical student and DJ who radiates energy and charisma: "My priority right now is to improve my knowledge." Baatar is rooted to the land his parents lived on: "Gobi is like an unsolved riddle."
Mongolia underwent a peaceful transition to democracy after 70 years of Communism, thanks no doubt to the peaceful nature of its people. Now they are living the dream, they have choices, but life is no less hard. Once there was no poor, no begging for money in gutters, no homeless. Baatar makes a living scraping at the red desert with hands and pick to reveal dinosaur eggs, which he sells on the black market. The earth still gives up ancient treasures thanks to the respect Mongolians have shown for nature. The old used to say "You should walk barefoot on the grass, you shouldn't break a single stem." Now encroaching industry is starting to affect the nomadic lifestyle.
Ten years on Ogo lives in San Francisco, working all hours to pay for his studies. He misses the care-free days of his youth. Baatar has left his "backwater" life behind, blown to the city like desert sand, but he seems to have lost heart too. His wife is ill and can no longer work with him, her workbench standing quiet and forlorn. By contrast, Uuganaa's energy is not dimmed. She has her own clinic and TV show, living proof that the dream is real if only you can reach out and grasp it. "People know me, people respect me." Dashing from the studio to do blood analysis at her clinic, she still finds time to be a mother to her young son "the sunshine of my life." In Mongolia, family is all. Unlike the US, laments Ogo, where the most important thing is the self.
Only Habae has stayed where we first found him, content with his lot, his eagle back at his side. He now imparts the ancient knowledge he possesses to his son."Horses don't get nervous around eagles because eagles are divine." He urges his son to go "just slowly, no rush" which seems to be a metaphor for the whole film. In a land where religion was banned for so long, Habae prays to the "mountains and water" to protect his family.
The film whispers many quiet truths... Children are like the "sun's rays". Faith in the land will see you through. "He who doesn't know his history is like a monkey lost in a forest."
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