Season of the Horse

Mongolian shepherds, once the proud symbol of an age-old nomadic culture, are today embroiled in a bitter struggle to maintain their traditional existence. Among them is Wurgen, who has to look on as the continuing drought dries out the steppes and as modern civilisation advances with its laws, rules and barbed wire. He is not able to keep enough grazing sheep to maintain his wife and child and beloved old horse. Moving to the city, like so many others, is not an option for him. He becomes involved in conflict with friends, neighbours and authorities and, when his wife puts pressure on him to earn money for their child at school, the proud shepherd refuses: he would rather die than sell yoghurt by the roadside or get rid of his trusty steed. But Wurgen no longer has his own fate in his hands. The well-known Mongolian-Chinese actor Ning Cai, making his début as director with Season of the Horse, himself plays the lead of the tragic, stubborn shepherd. Na Renhua, also the producer, provides a convincing portrayal of his more practically oriented wife. Ning beautifully depicts the destructive effects of modernisation and drought on the traditional lifestyle on the endless Asian steppes, but does do unsentimentally in this classic drama of decline. A requiem for a way of life. (GT)