City of the Steppes (1994)

The first part of the Mongolia Trilogy was an avant-garde documentary that tries to paint a multidimensional picture of Mongolia. It starts off with an ancient fable and then moves on to little segments about different factions of the Mongolian population and then a long closing chapter called The Anthem. And the unique attempt does succeed, though a little too indulgent at times, but it really puts forth a comprehensive picture of Mongolia, its history, its present and its possible future, in just 52 minutes. And I call it ‘comprehensive’ because it really almost covers all the perspectives, the cultural, the political, the environmental, the economical and the human. And all that in an unique jump cut, intrusive style that will create a totally experimental feel. The director does a great job at editing and even though it forays too much into effects at times, it is quite a different type of documentary, informative yet almost surreal. Try it.