Urga

"Close to Eden" (Russian, 1992): Living on the simple, harsh, flowing Steppes of China/Mongolia, we meet a traditional family. By the photography and music, it's clear from the start that we should to accept, if not admire, their difficult but very satisfying life. Yes, there are signs of contemporary urban society – the young son wears a baseball cap, the daughter plays the accordion, and the wife wants her husband to travel to the nearest city for condoms (they are already over the legal limit of children), and a television. Eventually in the position of helping a stranded Russian truck driver, the husband travels with him to an urban "center" and deals with "city" life. "Close to Eden" patiently mutates from a beautifully straight forward "document", to one full of symbols - not just the threat of encroaching urban blight, but reminders of their proud racial past. Eventually narrated by the fourth son (any more than two is illegal in rural China), and named after the great Genghis Khan, he completes the story long after his grandmother, parents, and original hut are gone.

One of the most beautiful and lyrical films that I have ever seen, one of those experiences where you walk into a theatre not knowing what to expect and walk out of the theatre wanting to drag everyone you've ever known into the theatre to see it.

I can't imagine why this Oscar-nominated film is not available on DVD but it's well worth your annual haul-out-the-VHS-player-one-more-time weekend look. At first you'll feel like you're eavesdropping on something very private, but by the end of the film you may wish that you were one of the family.

I don't' like to give away plot points when commenting on a movie, in fact I don't even like to watch previews-of-coming-attractions because they give away too much of the story. I like to walk into a movie blind, and trust me on this one, you'll be glad you made the journey.

Nikita Mihalkov is a god when it comes to film. The guy below me is probably a not very smart, Hollywood films are 20% good and the rest is garbage just like your comment. I have seen but a few good American films the rest is the same old crap. I would like to say that American films have no life its always the same. This film has an amazing plot with its twist and turns make it a master piece. I am just trying to get my point across but the policy won't let me have anything smalled than 10 lines. I would love to me Nikita Mihalkov and just let him know that he is such a great director. So please when you see this really try to learn to speak and understand the Russian language so you can actually grasp what the movies is all about and really suck in the meaning of it.

I had to embrace my aunt after seeing this movie for having brought me to see it. The images are beautiful and the relationships are, at times, complex but always touching. Never have I experienced a filmmaker able to capture the beautiful humanity of each of his characters and their gestures. This film is a treasure and quite possibly my favorite film of all time.

This movie shows us a world without any borders, laws. Just a bunch of people who live in a superb nature, which fills the wide moviescreen in its endless beauty. It reminds us, how far we are away from nature, from our roots of our ancesters. That's why I think this movie appeals the people from all over the world. And especially those who like the widescreen movies from John Huston to Visconti. Only for the superb shots you can see it over and over again. It's, without any doubt a timeless beaty