I first encountered Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir‘s work again in 2021 on the Sundance Movie Competition. I used to be enchanted by the brief movie “Shiluus” (then titled “Mountain Cat”) a couple of lady in modern-day Mongolia who is delivered to an area shaman by her mom. It is just when the shaman lifts his masks that we understand that the person beneath the masks is merely a boy, the identical age because the lady. Once they meet exterior after the shaman ceremony, the 2 strike up a rapport that feels each flirtatious and youthful. I bear in mind considering again then that I might watch a full-length function precisely about this idea. So, once I noticed that Purev-Ochir had certainly turned that concept into a movie known as Metropolis of Wind, I felt compelled to look at it.
As Purev-Ochir’s directorial debut, Metropolis of Wind expands on the concepts introduced in “Shiluus.” At its core, the movie is a coming-of-age drama centered on a Mongolian shaman, Ze (Tergel Daring-Erdene). By day, he’s a highschool scholar, soft-spoken, and often teased by his classmates for the truth that he works as a shaman. In his free time, he dons a ceremonial gown and masks and summons the ancestral spirit often called “Grandpa spirit” to assist his group. It’s apparent that Ze has deep roots with the normal aspect of his tradition, even when he’s additionally a 17-year-old who likes to spend his time on Instagram his crush’s pictures. He believes in what he does, it’s not a swindle or a rip-off for him.
Issues change when one of many individuals who involves see the shaman is a woman his personal age, dropped at him by her mom to organize earlier than main coronary heart surgical procedure. Maralaa (Nomin-Erdene Ariunbyamba) is skeptical of Ze’s shaman talents and rebuffs him after their session, viewing him as an opportunist moderately than the true deal. Nonetheless, Ze is a 17-year-old, and hormones are an actual factor, so inevitably when Ze visits Maralaa within the hospital after her surgical procedure, the 2 flirt and shortly begin relationship. The candy, pet love between Ze and Maralaa begins to dominate his life. He goes out clubbing along with her, drinks alcohol, has intercourse, rebels at school, and the 2 of them even dye their hair blonde collectively.
This transformation in life-style slowly separates him from his connection to the ancestral spirits. Although his time with Maralaa is seen by means of rose-colored lenses, when Ze is unable to name to the spirits, he feels a definite lack of one thing. Metropolis of Wind usually performs with the contradictions of youth and the push-and-pull between modernity and custom. Ze needs to reside in a high-rise condominium although he totally believes in his position as a shaman, whereas Maralaa is a complete skeptic however longs to reside out within the huge open, on a farm within the countryside. The movie balances the concept of the 2, displaying us the blossoming romance with out neglecting the meditative tone of the narrative.
Whereas most of Metropolis of Wind is grounded in actuality, which maybe invitations the viewers to be skeptical of Ze’s talents, Purev-Ochir isn’t afraid to dabble in a little bit of magical realism so as to drive its concepts house. There isn’t something flawed with partying and having enjoyable and dying your hair, however Ze’s detachment from what he believes is severing his tie to the non secular. Though his romance with Maralaa is real, the hollowness of what’s thought of a contemporary life-style is unfulfilling and fairly actually spirit-killing. Ze’s shamanism isn’t painted as superfluous, a minimum of to not the older technology he sometimes serves. Whereas his classmates would possibly mock the Grandpa spirit, for a lot of, Ze’s connection to the spirit gives extra assist than every other individual may.
Purev-Ochir juxtaposes purchasing malls with yurts; displaying us the quiet life on the grasslands the place Ze and his household reside and in addition the darkly lit golf equipment of the congested metropolis the place he and Maralaa go to bounce. Purev-Ochir and cinematographer Vasco Viana paint a wealthy and various visible palette, typically with muted pastels and typically with vibrant neons. As a lot as this story is about Ze, it’s also a glance into Mongolia that stretches far past what Western society imagines once they consider the nation. It presents the reality as it’s, a rustic that also holds onto its people faith whereas additionally altering with the technological age.
At instances Metropolis of Wind appears extra concerned about displaying this distinction than creating Ze’s story, which is a moderately easy one, however visually there’s a lot to take pleasure in concerning the movie that the sluggish pacing and considerably disjointed storytelling might be forgiven. So far as function debuts go, Purev-Ochir delivers a strong providing, one which showcases her strengths and leans into the soul of her unique brief, elaborating on an intriguing idea to spectacular outcomes.
Score: B-