CLOSE TO EDEN
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
This story of a young Mongolian couple, Gombo and Pagma, is set in the quiet and immense steppes of China's Inner Mongolia. Although China allows a maximum of 2 children per family, the Mongols are allowed three. There is an infant, a delightful 6-year-old son and a lovely 9-year-old daughter. Gombo's mother also lives with them in their "yurt," a circular collapsible tent covered with furs or skin. Their living is made by tending sheep, horses and cattle for sale and food. We see one of the sheep slaughtered, skinned, and prepared for tonight's dinner.
Into this happy family comes a Russian truck driver, (Sergei) a contract worker, who is helping to build a road in China that will bring the steppes in closer comtact with the modern world. When he falls asleep at the wheel of his truck after having driven for 24 hours, he drives his truck's front wheels into a river. The next day he and truck are rescued by Gombo who invites him to join the family for dinner and a night's rest. They soon become good friends with Sergei involved in several funny scenes.
Beautiful photography of the immense sweeping steppes plus a warm and humorous story make this a most enjoyable film. Pagma, the pretty wife, tells Gombo that if he wants to have sex with her he had better go into town (several hours' ride on horseback) and get some condoms at the pharmacy. As she was a city woman before marrying Pagma, she has to explain contraceptives to him as he looks at her open-mouthed with a "what will they think of next" look.
Oddly, the town has a disco where nicely dressed young men and women are dancing up a storm, disco style; the last thing I would have expected to find in that part of the world. When Pagma enters the pharmacy with a note written by his wife so that he will know what to ask for he finds the place staffed by a dozen pretty pharmacists, one of whom asks if she can help. When he looks sheepish, she says "Did you come to buy condoms?" ""Who, me? Oh, no" and leaves. His explanation to his wife's query about the condoms is that they were "sold out."
In town he buys a TV to bring home to the family. He sets up the TV antenna, hooks the set up to the generator and they all gather round to watch. After a couple of hours they find the 2 available channels boring. (They could lived in the U.S. and have had 50 boring channels.)
Where Gombo and family used to live there now stands a smokestack spewing black smoke. The fourth child (born because Pagma did not get the condoms) now works at a gas station next to the smokestack. "Progress" is sweeping that beautiful area.
Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov.
In Chinese (Mongolian?) and Russian with English subtitles.
3.5 bytes
4 bytes = Superb 3 bytes = Too good to miss 2 bytes = Average 1 byte = Save your money
Ben Hoffman
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