DEPENDING
ON HEAVEN
The
technical quality of the film [The
Grasslands] is excellent;
these film-makers are skilled and know their craft and their audience
well. The sound track is well produced and clear, and the ambience
of the place and its people comes through in a pleasantly unobtrusive
way.C. Ikels
56
minutes Colour 1988
Film maker: Peter Entell
This
two part film focusses on Mongols living in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region of China. Both sections would be excellent as teaching aids,
particularly when accompanied by appropriate literature. The cinematography
is stunning, evoking a strong mixture of the power of the environment-the
expanse of the desert and grasslands-and the will of the people
who live there.
PART
ONE-THE GRASSLANDS
28
minutes
The
Grasslands
follows the life of a nomadic Mongol family on their year's journey
following their herds across northern China. This section portrays
a traditional view of Mongolian life. Catalogue
number (VHS): RA/VHS178 £8.
****
PART
TWO-THE DESERT
28
minutes
The
second part of the film, The
Desert, gives a more contemporary view of Mongols attempting
to reclaim the desert in the more sedentary lifestyle currently
encouraged by the Chinese government. This second section brings
in disturbing environmental questions regarding the destruction
of these northern grasslands. Catalogue
number (VHS): RA/VHS178 £8.
*****
C.
Ikels, 1989. Review of the film. American
Anthropologist, Vol. 91, pp. 838-39.
S.
Jagchid and P. Hyer, 1979. Mongolia's
Culture and Society. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.
O.
Lattimore, 1951. Inner Asian
Frontiers of China. American Geographical Society, New York.
O.
Lattimore, 1962. Nomads and
Commissars: Mongolia Revisited. Oxford University Press.
O.
Lattimore, 1975. Mongol Journeys.
AMS Press, New York.
H.
Schwartz (ed.), 1979. Studies
of Mongolia: Proceedings of the First North American Conference
on Mongolian Studies. Center for East Asian Studies, Western
Washington University, Bellingham WA.
If you are interested in hiring or purchasing this film please contact the Film Officer by or +44(0)20 7387 0455.
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