About the Film
Mongolian films are not that common, yet they often come in high artistic quality, as seen in If I Only Could Hibernate. Marking the feature debut by director Zoljargal Purevdash, the film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival this year. The film follows the story of poor, yet prideful Ulzii, the teenage boy who is determined to win a Physics competition, but his illiterate mother ignores his academic achievements and only tries to provide for her children’s daily needs, even at the expense of the young boy’s ambition.
Although the film's story may seem somewhat tragic, the director transforms this difficult life into a film that brings joy to viewers. Through the film, Purevdash doesn’t try to present a romanticized image about poverty, instead she focuses on the emotions of her protagonist and invites us to think about solutions with him to improve his life conditions, even if only slightly, instead of simply lamenting them.
The film is reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting in some of its details. In both films, we see a young man trying to overcome difficult life circumstances that have been imposed on him. The only bright side of their lives seems to be through academic excellence.
While Will Hunting had to overcome his psychological problems that prevented the good side of him from showing, Ulzii had to try to overcome poverty, which is not only reflected in the basic needs of food and drink, but even in the need for warmth and fuel, making winter one of his enemies as well, especially after he became responsible for his siblings. Ulzii finds himself forced to search for any solution, even if it means hibernating to save on daily expenses.
Andrew Mohsen
