ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Art Director Levtchenko, Aleksei

Associate Producer Cleitman, René

Cinematographer Kaluta, Villenn

Costume Design Guinno, Irina

Executive Producer Piel, Jean-Louis

Film Editor Hache, Joëlle

Music Artemiev, Eduard

Producer Seydoux, Michel

Screenwriter Ibraguimbekov, Roustman

Sound Arnardi, Vincent

Sound Hennequin, Dominique

Production Company C/FP Distribution Inc.

Production Company Miramax Films

Production Company Pyramide International

Principal Cast Babushka

Principal Cast Badema

Principal Cast Baoyinhexige

Principal Cast Bayaertu

Principal Cast Bochinski, Jon

Principal Cast Gostukhin, Vladimir

Principal Cast Kuznetsova, Larissa

Principal Cast Vachtiline, Nikolai

Principal Cast Wurinile

Principal Cast Yongyan, Bao

Principal Cast Zhiyong, Wang

DESCRIPTION

TIFF NOTE

There are few signs of the modern world on the vast, rolling steppe of China's Inner Mongolia. The uninterrupted greens and yellows of the gently sloping hills meet the endlessly blue horizon. Here, Gombo, a young Mongolian shepherd, lives with his wife, Pagma, their family, and their flocks, much as their nomadic forefathers had for centuries. Gombo raises sheep and horses, lives in a yurt (a mobile hut), and tends to duties which have gone unchanged for a millennia. While they seem to live in a timeless environment, unobstructed by modern day ideas, practices, and constraints, their world is punctuated by visits from a zany uncle who brings an assortment of seductive gifts: a Sylvester Stallone poster, a small trumpet, an apple, the Chopin music his daughter plays on her accordion. Pagma was born in a city, but Gombo has never left the steppe -- until Sergei's truck ends up in a lake not far from Gambo's yurt. Sergei is a truck driver, working far from his native Russia, building a road that will connect the steppe to the modern world. He and Gombo become friends, and together they go to the city, where they protect each other like brothers. Their adventures range from the hilarious to the melancholic as they rove the streets and clubs of this new universe. Gombo returns to the steppes with canned goods, a bicycle and a television: a bounty that spells the end of his traditional life. With "Urga," Nikita Mikhalkov (perhaps best known in North America for "Dark Eyes") reaches deep into the heart of a world that is slowly disappearing, and preserves its memory in pristine hues, breathtaking vistas, and loving portraits.

FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING HISTORY

TIFF CINEMATHEQUE PROGRAMMING HISTORY

TIFF YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMMING HISTORY

SUBJECTS

RELATED RECORDS

FRL-38624 research file