Geography lesson time.
Mongolia which is the setting for the movie, is an independent country on
the northern border of china and the southern border of Russia. It has had a
long and interesting history which can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mongolia
In more recent times from 1924 to about 1992 it was more or less part of the
Soviet Union and much of its infrastructure was built during that time. With
the breakup of the USSR, Mongolia developed a constitution in 1992 and is
now a democratic country. The majority of the population is Buddhist
although in far western Mongolia where the primary ethnic population is
Kazakh, they are Muslim.
The movie is in no way political. That is just the way life is in a nomadic
culture. We did a trek in the Alti Mountains of Western Mongolia and also
spent time in the Gobi Desert and had a chance to meet some of the nomadic
families. They are a proud culture who resist the lure of moving to the big
cities such as Ulaanbaatar, the capitol. Also they are no longer isolated
from the outside world. Probably half the gers (yurts) we saw in the
remotest regions, had a solar panel, car battery, satellite dish and B&W TV.
Orion
"Yeah but check out "The Story of the Weeping Camel". Same director and no
English. How'd they get the camel to cry on cue? I dunno about you but
both films made the life of nomads look awfully tough and barren to me.
Sinister and evil? I felt sorry for those folks living without
infrastructure and/or on the outskirts of decrepit concrete housing centers.
Ddin't make me like the Chinese govmnt one bit. Maybe I enjoy a level of
comfort and connectedness beyond that of the target audience?"
Andy
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