If you think about Asian cinema then the countries that first spring to mind would be as predictable as the films that follow. There’s India and Bollywood. Japan and Horror or Anime. China and Martial Arts. It seems that people in the Western Hemisphere, unless you are into this specific niche, don’t really know that Asia isn’t just a collection of for countries. It’s a continent that streams and produces plenty of evocative, whimsical and brilliant films. Which is exactly what Asia House Film Festival is aiming to showcase with their excellent event this weekend.
Especially as this year, it is dedicating part of its event to Mongolian Treasures.
Much like this one - Remote Control.
Ok, so that plot outline makes it sound like it’s about to turn into the Mongolian version of the boy next door. However, Remote Control is a whimsical and beautiful film that captures the essence of a turning age, from boy to man. It is a tentative piece with lack of sinister elements that boldly paints a picture of boy torn between his duty and his dreaming. Birdie, played sublimely by the young Baasandorj Enkhtavian, strongly portrays this journey with adolescent frustrations combined with this fantastical enhancement on his world. Opposite him is the sublime Bayarmaa Nergui as Anya who is able to capture her own irritations with married life and her distant vicious husband whilst balancing the tentativeness into her weird new life that Birdie is leading her into. It is a remarkable duel between what is expected and what is flown into the cusp of wide eyed dreaming.
It’s wistful, like dust upon the wind Remote Control becomes akin to Western coming of age stories, with enough poignancy and surreal elements to take immerse you into this journey, pulling at your heartstrings and taking you eloquently through our lead characters life. It’s stirring, allowing you to empathise with both Birdie and Anya and follow them into their world with the same wonder that Birdie encompasses.
Remote Control is wonderful.