La Mongolie au cinéma

Twelve-year-old Bazarbai is unlike other Nomad boys his age. He dreams of leaving behind the green pastures of his native Western Mongolian province, lured instead by the call of the urban jungle: Ulan Bator. But Bazarbai's father has his own aspirations: One day, the young boy will make him proud by following the famed eagle hunter's own footsteps. When Bazarbai's brother, Khan, is forced to leave home for Ulan Bator, Bazarbai feels deeply hurt and betrayed; he should have been the one sent into the big city. In an attempt to cheer him up, Bazarbai's father takes him to the great Eagle Festival; but the young boy is inconsolable.

This film takes place in a remote area, a desert region situated somewhere between the Mongolia and Chinese border. The town has become nearly void of all inhabitants except for Hangai, who works obsessively to plant trees in the desert area. Hangai’s own wife has recently left him, as their daughter became increasingly ill. While Hangai wallows in solitude, a North Korean refugee arrives at his doorstep with her son. They ask for shelter and Hanghai obliges. Although the trio can’t even speak a common language, they are able to communicate nonethless and work together to plant trees. It seems Hanghai is attracted to Soon Hee, but she doesn’t feel quite the same way. Then a Mongolian soldier stationed at a nearby camp, befriends the trio and the dynamics of their relationship start to change.

A promise, an old, destroyed horse head violin and a song believed lost lead the singer Urna back to Outer Mongolia. Her grandmother was forced to destroy her once loved violin in the tumult of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The ancient song of the Mongols, "The Two Horses of Genghis Khan", was engraved on the violin's neck. Only the violin's neck and head survived the cultural storm. Now it is time to fulfill the promise that Urna made to her grandmother. Arrived in Ulan Bator, Urna brings the still intact parts of the violin - head and neck - to Hicheengui, a renowned maker of horse head violins, who will build a new body for the old instrument in the coming weeks. Then, Urna leaves for the interior to look there for the song's missing verses. But she will be disappointed. None of the people whom she meets on the way appears to still know the old melody of the Mongols.

Dans les steppes d’Asie centrale, où les éleveurs survivent dans un climat hostile, les enfants peuplent un monde aride de leurs désirs et de leurs rêves. Ils sont à la croisée des chemins, héritiers d’une tradition qui disparaît et inventeurs d’un nouveau mode de vie. Trois histoires retracent trois destinées étonnantes : celle d’Amraa, le jeune Mongol qui part rejoindre son amoureuse en ville ; celle d’Apo, le bébé sibérien perdu dans la neige ; et enfin celle de Lhamo, l’enfant tibétaine qui voulait vivre avec son yak…