It is a fact that cinema armchair traveling is way better than ordinary armchair traveling, so this time the lights go dim and I am setting off to Mongolia, to Ulaanbaatar, the city of wind. The center of the story here is a 17-year-old young man finishing school and experiencing what regular 17-year-old people do. However, I believe that it is not the plot of the film that is to be observed closely, what is even more interesting to see is how seemingly contradicting things coexist in this place. A shaman dance, a piece of smoked meat thrown into hot tea with milk only to be eaten from there, modern consumerism culture, a top-notch heart surgery, a teacher barking at students (see to it, there will be a backlash!), a poor man's struggling to survive the winter hoping to see the signs of spring, pumping beats of nightclub music, falling in love for the first time and maybe then falling for something else instead. All of this we can see with such care and tenderness, giving room for both mysticism and humor.
The people who brought this film into life managed to show their unequivocal love for this place, a city of wind, a city of spirits. So may it grow and see the endless number of autumns. And springs. I feel grateful for this magical armchair journey I've now had.
