Close to Eden

Close to Eden
Urga
Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov
Produced by Michel Seydoux
Jean-Louis Piel
René Cleitman
Written by Rustam Ibragimbekov
Nikita Mikhalkov
Starring Bayaertu
Badema
Vladimir Gostyukhin
Music by Eduard Artemyev
Cinematography Vilen Kalyuta
Editing by Joëlle Hache
Distributed by Miramax Films (US)
Curzon Video (UK)
Release date(s) 1991
Running time 109 mins (US VHS)
114 mins (UK VHS)
118 mins (Russia)
Country Soviet Union
Language Mongolian / Russian / Mandarin

Urga is a 1991 film by Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov. It is released in North America as Close to Eden. It depicts the friendship between a Russian truck driver and a Mongolian shepherd in Inner Mongolia. The film was an international co-production between companies based in Russia and France.

Contents

Plot

The Mongolian shepherd Gombo lives in a yurt in Inner Mongolia with his wife, three children, and mother. They are content with their uncomplicated rural lives but Gombo wants to go on having sex with his wife, while she refuses for fear of having a fourth child, which is against Chinese law. A Russian truck driver named Sergei is stranded nearby and finds his way to their yurt, where he and Gombo become friends despite their language and cultural differences. Gombo and Sergei go into the nearest city together, where Gombo is supposed to buy contraceptives (condoms). He buys a television set and other goods, but backs out of buying contraceptives after discovering that all the staff at the drugstore are women. Sergei, a former army bandsman, becomes drunk and sings "Hills of Manchuria" in a nightclub, with the band playing from sheet music tattooed on his back. He is arrested and bailed out of jail by Gombo.

Gombo returns home, and along the way stops to eat. He has a strange dream featuring his drunken, horse-riding relative as Genghis Khan and his wife as the Khan's wife. In the dream both he and Sergei are captured and killed and the TV set is destroyed. Gombo awakes from his dream and arrives home with the TV. He and his family switch between watching a broadcast of the President of the US and a badly sung variety show. Gombo's wife, upset that he didn't buy contraceptives, leaves the yurt. Gombo follows her out onto the prairie, sticking an urga (a long stick with a lasso on the end used to capture animals) into the ground in a traditional warning that a couple is being intimate. A voiceover from Gombo's fourth son, who was conceived at this time, concludes the film, and a chimney belching smoke stands where Gombo placed his urga.

Awards

Urga won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and Best European Film at the European Film Awards. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and for a Golden Globe in the same category.

Influence

The film is credited with sparking Czech writer Petra Hůlová's initial interest in Mongolia, leading to study, then an exchange year in Ulan Bator, and then to her first novel, Paměť mojí babičce (2002; "In memory of my grandmother"; published English translation, All This Belongs to Me (2009, Northwestern University Press).[1]

References

  1. ^ Allen, Lisette, "Telling a foreign tale in a foreign tongue", Prague Post, September 30, 2009. Retrieved 2011-06-27.

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Stolen Children
European Film Award for Best European Film
1993
Succeeded by
Lamerica

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Eden Hotel Wolff Munich (Munich) — Eden Hotel Wolff Munich country: Germany, city: Munich (City) Eden Hotel Wolff Munich Location The hotel is located on a busy street opposite the main train station and is within walking distance of all the sights and shopping areas of central… …   International hotels

  • Eden Hotel Zutphen (Zutphen) — Eden Hotel Zutphen country: Netherlands, city: Zutphen (City) Eden Hotel Zutphen Location The hotel is centrally located, approximately 10 minutes walk from the central station and opposite the church. Zutphen is approximately 14km from Deventer… …   International hotels

  • Eden Hotel Venice (Venice) — Eden Hotel Venice country: Italy, city: Venice (City Centre: Cannaregio) Eden Hotel Venice If you are planning for an ideal holiday destination in Venice, the Eden Hotel is a perfect place for you to reside and explore the surrounding… …   International hotels

  • Eden Hotel Geneva (Geneva) — Eden Hotel Geneva country: Switzerland, city: Geneva (City) Eden Hotel Geneva Facing one of Geneva s most beautiful parks, the Hotel Eden is situated a few steps from the lake and close to the town centre and all the international organisations.… …   International hotels

  • Eden Plaza Hotel London (London) — Eden Plaza Hotel London country: United Kingdom, city: London (South Kensington) Eden Plaza Hotel London The Eden Plaza Hotel s central location, pleasing accommodation and round the clock friendly service ensure that guests are treated to a… …   International hotels

  • Eden Park Hotel New York (New York City) — Eden Park Hotel New York country: United States, city: New York City (Airport: LaGuardia) Eden Park Hotel New York Best Western Eden Park is just five minutes from Shea Stadium, National Tennis Center, the Hall of Science and Flushing Meadows… …   International hotels

  • Eden Roc Renaissance Resort and Spa Miami (Miami) — Eden Roc Renaissance Resort and Spa Miami country: United States, city: Miami (Miami Beach) Eden Roc Renaissance Resort and Spa Miami Location The resort is centrally situated on the Miami Beach. The nightlife of South Beach, shopping at Lincoln… …   International hotels

  • Eden Manor — (Wakefield,США) Категория отеля: 4 звездочный отель Адрес: 154 Post Road, Wakefield, RI 02879, США Опис …   Каталог отелей

  • Eden Terrace — Suburb:Eden TerraceCity:AucklandIsland:North IslandSurrounded by to the north to the north east to the east to the south to the south west to the west to the north west Auckland CBD Grafton Newmarket Mount Eden Kingsland Arch Hill Newton Eden… …   Wikipedia

  • Eden, Anthony — 1897–1977    Eden was a British statesman and CHURCHILL’s Foreign Secretary for most of the war. Eden was Britain’s youngest Foreign Secretary from 1935–38 but resigned because he did not agree with CHAMBERLAIN’s policy of appeasing HITLER. When… …   Who’s Who in World War Two

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”