The film "Ulga", also known as "The Territory of Love", is a film made by the famous Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov in Inner Mongolia, my country in 1991. This film, which was invested by the French, used 3 cameras and consumed 65,000 meters of film, won many awards at home and abroad after it was completed, but it also caused some people's comments. One of the reasons is that the director's previous work, "Black Eyes", which he shot in Italy in 1987, failed to arouse the goodwill of the Chinese. Some people also harbored an emotional resistance to him.
However, "Ulga" is fundamentally different from "Dark Eyes". If "Dark Eyes" is the author who transplanted the plot content of "The Woman with the Pug" to Italy, and then used the famous actor Mastrojani to earn the audience's tears and sympathy, "Ulga" showed a better performance. for a broad and far-reaching meaning. It shows the blending of two different cultures and the collision of ancient and modern spirits.
A Russian businessman on the Chinese border lost his car on the vast prairie of Inner Mongolia. In asking for help, he made contact with a Mongolian family who have lived there for generations, thus starting the collision of two cultures and two worlds, ancient and modern. The reason why this collision was chosen on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia is that the director has his own unique understanding of the grasslands and Mongolians.
When talking about the idea of the film, director Mikhalkov said: He once wanted to make a film about China's Inner Mongolia, but he didn't even know why he wanted to make such a film. Maybe it was subconscious, maybe he wanted to follow the footsteps of his ancestors. Because the Mongols ruled Russia for 270 years, although there were burning and looting during this period, which brought certain losses to Russia, one thing is that the Mongols have never insulted the Russians' feelings for religion. And Russian blood is mixed with Mongolian blood. Given that both the Russians and the Mongols live in a vast space, they have many similarities.
As for the understanding of grasslands, it is even more unique. Mikhalkov believed that the steppe was a horizontal phenomenon for all people and a vertical phenomenon for the Mongols. When a tourist looks at the grassland from the train window, the grassland is horizontal, there is no forest, and there are no hills. But as long as you stop to take a look and listen, maybe you will see the original appearance of the grassland. Like the ocean, virgin forest, and desert, it is a wonderful phenomenon. And when you go deep into it, you feel its verticality, so you blend in, feel its sound, breath, and fragrance. And when you lie on the grass under the blue sky and white clouds, or ride on horseback, or watch the sunset, you will have a joy that cannot be expressed in words, but can only be felt but cannot be touched. Live the breath of the soul. The Mongolians who have lived on the grasslands for generations have an inseparable connection with the grasslands, and the grasslands are themselves.
It was this understanding of the grasslands and the Mongolians that when his vision was only 5 pages, he got the financial support of the French producer Michel, which strengthened his determination to shoot this film. .
As for the arrangement of the plot, it was after his assistant had been to Inner Mongolia and brought back China's family planning policy: a couple can only have one child, and Mongolians, as a minority, can have three children, he did Started with Rustam Ibrakimbekov. In the beginning, his interest was to represent a medieval state of nomads and steppes—the combination, or rather, the collision, of Mongolia and the modern state. When he himself took the film crew to Inner Mongolia, the idea gradually took shape. This is a story that happened after a protagonist named Sergey, a Russian truck driver, got lost on the grassland. The presence of a foreign Russian in the plot undoubtedly provides a greater possibility to express the collision of ancient and modern worlds, and to express a personal view of the phenomenon from within the film.
Sergey, who was doing business on the Chinese border, got acquainted with the Gomba family on the grassland because he lost his way while driving on the grassland. In the case of language barriers, music enabled them to communicate. However, when he saw the scene of the owner slaughtering the sheep himself, Sergey felt tired and seemed extremely unaccustomed to it. But he showed an excellent appetite for mutton. Back in the city, Sergey seemed to be back home. He was sitting in the hotel chatting with his friends, and he was very excited. Sitting in the restaurant and eating silently, I came to the road and stood on the side of the road to watch the beautiful scenery and the pedestrians on the road. But at a critical moment, when Sergey was drunk and taken away by the police, he was able to go to the police station as a friend to help rescue him. The two countries are different, their nationalities are different, their cultural attainment is very different, and their living habits are very different. People who seem to be incompatible eventually become friends, showing the spiritual communication of people from different regions and the collision of cultures in different regions.
The film highlights the symmetrical layout in the construction of the plot and the setting of the characters. The Russian truck driver Sergei lost in the steppe represents civilization and modernity, while the Mongolian Gomba family represents the traditional way of life. Sergey is far away from his hometown, alone, and he misses his relatives in his hometown. The Gongba family stays together, has children, and lives in peace, but he also has the idea of seeing the outside world. In the arrangement of the location of the story, a symmetrical layout is also adopted. There are not only the vast grasslands that represent nature and various natural scenery on the grasslands, but also cities that represent modern civilization, large hotels in the cities, carefully arranged dance halls, and various people who are entertaining in the hotels. Russians came to China and came to the grasslands. People on the grasslands came to the cities and sat in big hotels. Modern culture and ancient culture, as well as urban culture and rural culture, merged with each other. Even the author went to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia to film. It is the collision and fusion of two cultures. However, the film mainly shows the grassland and the customs of the people living on the grassland. The film has a root-seeking connotation.
The title of the film is "Ulga", which is a harness used by nomads to harness horses on the grasslands. If the owner sticks the harness on the ground, it means that someone is making love here, so the film is also called "The Territory of Love". At the beginning of the film, two men and women ride horses and chase each other on the grassland. After the man catches up with the woman, they both lie down and sink into the deep grass, which is the explanation of the title of the film. The protagonist Gongba's family already has 3 children. According to China's family planning policy, they cannot have another child, but the mother insists that her son have another child. The ancient traditional ideology and culture and modern ideology and culture are not only expressed between different ethnic groups - Mongolians and Russians, but also between Mongolians themselves. The old mother wants her son to have another child and the wife sends her husband to the city to buy condoms are the embodiment of two ideas. This is how the story unfolds. The wife sent her husband to the city to buy condoms, but the husband brought back a color TV, and soon they gave birth to their fourth child. Before long a row of factory chimneys was erected where they had lived, but it was many years later.
In the film, cars, color TVs, and condoms are symbols of modern civilization, while harnessing horse poles and slaughtering sheep to entertain guests are ancient traditions that embody the Mongolian way of life for generations. At the end of the story, the Gomba family installed a large color TV, and a large factory was later built in the place where they lived, which must be said to be a big improvement. The modern way of life replaces the traditional way of life, and the modern civilization replaces the traditional backwardness. This is the inevitable result of social development. However, while accepting modern things and stepping into modern life, Gomba did not forget his roots. He still thinks of himself as a descendant of Genghis Khan. The dream he had when he was walking home with a color TV was undoubtedly a memory of his ancestors. And when Sergey suddenly sang "On the Hills of Manchuria" with emotion on the stage of the hotel, he was also in memory of his grandfather who died in China during the battle with the Japanese army.
In the film, the image of Sergey has the shadow of Mikhalkov to a certain extent. The scene in which he danced by the river when he appeared was the work of Mikhalkov. When he was lost on the prairie in a foreign country, in the natural environment of a different country, and unable to communicate due to the language barrier, he showed a look of bewilderment and loss. When he returned to the city, returned to the restaurant, and talked at the dinner table, he seemed to have found himself. Actor Goss Jiuxin's somewhat overdone performance accurately expressed the mentality of the people in the play. Amidst the flashes of colorful lights, he sang conspicuously and hysterically on the rock stage: "God, what are you going to do with us..." was an expression of the Russians' inner pain. And his drunkenness in the hotel was also caused by psychological imbalance and helplessness.
Gomba, the owner of the steppe, was a friend of Sergey at the time of his death in the film. He helped Sergey twice. Once on the prairie and once after he was drunk and taken away by the police. Gongba has traditional Mongolian virtues: generous and helpful. On the grasslands, he can slaughter sheep, horses, and breed sheep skillfully, but he is less confident in the city. Especially when it comes to having children, he seems to be undecided. He will ask this, then that, and finally, he will simply go to the temple and ask the gods. Perhaps it is Mikhalkov's concept, and the film highlights the steppe people's dependence on the gods of providence. Perhaps it is the close relationship between the grassland people and nature, or the nomadic life mainly depends on the arrangement of God. Gongba seems to believe more in the will of God and the giving of nature. The performance of Bajima, the actor of gomba, is calm and natural, reflecting the true nature of the grassland people. What he did on the prairie was natural and smooth, and the sense of cringe in the city was also in place.
Mikhalkov has a curious color when he expresses Mongolians and highlights exotic customs. Maybe it's to cater to Western tastes, but it's definitely Mikhalkov's ingenious style. Such as the scene of Gongba entering the city. He got out of the car and rode into the city when he was driving out of the city in a truck on the way. On the main road where people and cars come and go, he rides through it alone, which seems so out of tune with the whole environment. In another place, in the hotel, a Mongolian man is riding a horse and singing along the corridor on the second floor. The scene where the tall horses almost occupy the entire space of the corridor makes people feel so unrealistic and incredible. However, Mikhalkov did so, and it worked. Also, standing on the road watching pedestrians when Gomba enters the city when he has nothing to do, and photographing pedestrians on the street from the window of the room covered by Serge are all things that only Mikhalkov could have imagined. His absurd handwriting will undoubtedly increase the viewing value of the film, especially for Westerners, these plots can arouse their curiosity and mystery about the East. However, the greatest mystery lies in Mikhalkov's pictures of the savannah and the natural scenery on the steppe.
In Mikhalkov's film, the prairie of Inner Mongolia comes to life, showing a three-dimensional sense, as he said, a sense of verticality. At the beginning of the film, both men and women are chasing on horseback on the grassland. The grassland is blown by layers of waves under the breeze, showing infinite vitality. On the grassland at night, the silver light of the river under the reflection of the moonlight is like strips of silver inlaid on the dark green carpet. The grassland at night is so deep and peaceful. Being in it is like being in the vast universe. in space. There is also the hazy scenery at dusk, although it is slightly processed, it looks so natural. In the morning, the grassland washed by the heavy rain, the air is fresh and the vision is wide. Standing in it, I feel relaxed and happy, as if the world has become wider and bigger. There are also rainbows, moons, eagles flying, horses running, and sheep chasing on the grassland, all of which constitute the natural scenery of the grassland, which is harmonious and dynamic, and has produced a peculiar effect.
When talking about the process of shooting the film, the director said: In the past, all his works were prepared in advance, even if it was a small detail, how to shoot him was clearly written in the description. But there seems to be a natural flow during the making of this film. As a result, he seems to be led forward by the film. The film subordinates the artist to his own will, just as the grassland subordinates the man to his own will. The improvisations of the plots that appeared in the filming process that were not in the script were all derived from the creator's re-comprehension and feeling of the surrounding world. Comprehension and feeling depend on a large number of factors around, first of all, nature - wind, rain, sky, rainbow, sun, sunset, etc. are reflected in the film. The filming process is also the scriptwriting process. And they almost write a scene, shoot a scene, then watch the demo, get a feeling, correct the mood and tone in the next scene, write and shoot again. Therefore, there are also very good scenery, very good scenes.
In addition to the location scenes mentioned above, the scene where the Inner Mongolian family entertained the Russian guests in the tent was also very real and moving. The prepared mutton is placed on the table, and the whole family is sitting at the table waiting for the guests. Due to the language barrier between the host and the guest, they have great curiosity, and they both want to understand each other and make the other party understand their mentality. There is also the naive and serious look of the eldest daughter of the host family when she plays the accordion, and it is a good performance to communicate with both parties through music. Mikhalkov here gives everyone a little bit of acting, because they are all amateur actors, and the emotion is heightened by the camera and editing to great effect.
Mikhalkov once said that the film he made did not want to pursue any awards, and he did not even consider sending the film to Venice. However, his film still brought him back the "Golden Lion", which cannot but be said to be his Another victory.
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