Currently Mongolia’s capital has 1.5 million inhabitants - half the population of the country. Fifty-year Tumurbaatar is only one of many coming to the city to fulfill their dreams of a better life.
The promise of higher wages , which they could never earn as nomadic livestock herders, lures people from rural areas to Ulaanbaatar. The film’s protagonist leaves his livelihood in the steppes and works as a garbage truck driver. He has left his wife Tungaa behind, as well as his son Bilguun, who’s to take over the family’s herd after his father. He lives in the city with his gifted student daughter Udvaal, in order to provide her with access to higher education. But city life and his sporadic visits home take their toll on Tumurbaatar‘s marriage and relationship with his children. Thanks to the thoughtfully led camera, we join the life of one family, caught just when economic pressure forces people to abandon their traditions with visions of a better future for themselves and their children.
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