In Mongolia, nearly a third of the population lives below the poverty line. On the outskirts of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, where yurts of nomads in search of work are crowded together, living conditions are particularly difficult.
It is the precarious fate of these families exiled from the steppes that the director Zoljargal Purevdash depicts in her first semi-autobiographical feature film. If only I could hibernatepresented in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. It is the first Mongolian film ever selected at the festival.
Thus, Ulzii (Battsooj Uurtsaikh), the eldest of four children, takes on a series of odd jobs to support his family, while his single mother (Ganchimeg Sandagdorj) struggles to make ends meet.
Gifted in mathematics, Ulzii is offered by a teacher the opportunity to participate in a physics competition whose first prize is a scholarship to study abroad. The teenager must then choose between work and studies, because preparing for the competition requires time and effort, at the risk of sacrificing an essential salary for his family.
Autobiographical elements
At the Montreal premiere, during which the director addressed the audience with the help of an interpreter, she explained that she was inspired by her own journey, school having allowed her to escape poverty.
She nevertheless chose to write her main character in the masculine. Indeed, in a country where girls are more likely to pursue university studies, while boys are encouraged to contribute quickly to the family income, Zoljargal Purevdash wanted to convey a message of hope.
The filmmaker achieves this with a luminous story, always imbued with kindness towards less well-off populations. It is also the mother who best embodies this generation of nomads torn between a traditional way of life and the promises of a better future in the city.
However, she is erased. Unable to find a job in the capital, she returns to the countryside to live from agriculture, leaving her children in their yurt under the supervision of Ulzii, so that he can prepare for the competition. However, she does not reappear after his departure and her presence is only mentioned in phone calls with her son.
Company portrait
The mother’s character then lacks depth, serving mainly as a counterweight to Ulzii, without her psychology being fully explored. Other supporting roles, including that of the teacher and a neighbor who helps Ulzii in his mother’s absence, however offer a nuanced portrait of their society, where mutual aid prevails over individualism.
The film also plunges us into a new universe in which urban chaos rubs shoulders with the vestiges of an agrarian and folkloric past. Zoljargal Purevdash carefully unveils magnificent panoramas of Ulan Bator, while his camera reveals all the subtlety of Battsooj Uurtsaikh’s acting, notably in warm-colored images inside the family yurt.
So many qualities that can explain the film’s immense success at the box office in Mongolia, while reminding us that too few stories from this corner of the world reach us.
At the very least, we are pleased that the Mongolian film industry is increasingly relying on international co-productions and is beginning to be recognised by festivals. Zoljargal Purevdash will certainly become one of its most worthy representatives in the years to come.