Badema Movies
A lone ping-pong ball floating along a remote Mongolian river sets a trio of young boys on the adventure of a lifetime in director Ning Hao's tale of discovery and adventure in east-central Asia. Little has changed in the landscape of Mongolia since the ancient days of Genghis Kahn, so when Bilike, Erguotou, and Dawa discover a mysterious white ball dancing along the surface of the water, their curiosity quickly gets the best of them. Informed by Bilike's grandmother that the strange sphere is a glowing pearl from heaven, the three youngsters stay up all night waiting for the ball to light up, to no avail. When inquiries to others offer nothing but perplexed looks and wild speculation, Bilike, Erguotou, and Dawa travel to a faraway monastery to seek the wisdom of the wise lamas and unlock the secrets of their odd discovery. That, too, offers more questions and answers as the sheltered lamas admit to never having seen an object of such origins, though, and it isn't until the trio witnesses a ping-pong tournament on a television won by Dawa's father that they finally realize their discovery is the "national ball of China." Now determined to return the ball to its rightful owners, Bilike, Erguotou, and Dawa set out on the road to Beijing without realizing how far the technologically advanced capitol of China truly is from their serine Mongolian paradise. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hurichabilike, Dawa, (more)
- 1997
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Screenwriter Lu Wei turned director with this $1 million production shot in four months at the Gansu Province. During the 11th Century, nomadic horsemen raid a village, kidnapping 10 male babies for their emperor. Villager Ya (Badenma), on foot with her newborn baby, follows the horsemen, led by the inarticulate Ye (Ni Dahong), as they make the return journey. The procession zigzags to confuse hostile Khitans and Han Chinese, and Ya slowly wins over and finds acceptance by the earthy, brutish bunch. Shown at the 1997 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- PG
Veteran Russian writer-director Nikita Mikhalkov's film about the impact of modern civilization on an idyllic part of Mongolia won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film. A farmer (Bayyartu) and his wife, who live in a rural part of Inner Mongolia, have three children. Chinese population control policies prevent them from having any more. The farmer sets out for the nearest town to obtain birth control. He comes upon a Russian truck driver (Vladimir Gostyukhin) who has ended up in a lake. The farmer takes the man back to his farm, and after initially being appalled at the lack of civilization, the Russian becomes enchanted with the peaceful life of the backwards countryside and decides to stay. But his presence presages big changes for the peasants. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Badema, Vladimir Gostyukhin, (more)
