If Only I Could Hibernate

Zoljargal Purevdash's 2023 Mongolian film follows Ulzii, a teenager in a poor district of Ulaanbaatar. He wants to win a physics competition and take a scholarship, but when his mother finds work in the countryside he is left alone with his siblings in midwinter. At the centre is one concrete problem: fuel. Ulzii walks at night looking for something to burn and chooses every day between studying and keeping his siblings warm. The narrative does not turn the dilemma into a metaphor; the problem really is fuel. It is Purevdash's first feature and became the first Mongolian film in Cannes Official Selection, screening in Un Certain Regard in 2023. The cast is largely non-professional. Who it's for: those who like socially realist contemporary Asian cinema. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a comforting resolution; the film offers no ease.