It's 1967, the second year of the Cultural Revolution. Beijing students Chen Zhen and Yang Ke volunteer for work in Inner Mongolia. They are tasked by dictatorial bureaucrat director Bao Shungui to teach Mandarin to the local tribe. Bilig is the respected tribal leader and Gasma is intrigued with Chen Zhen. The tribesmen herd sheep and live next to wolves which hunt gazelles. The tribe takes some the hunted gazelles which are stored by the wolves in the frozen ground. Bao Shungui returns to take the rest. He leads an effort to root out the underground dens and kill the pups. Chen Zhen ignores tradition and keeps one pup alive. Bao Shungui dismisses the local traditional ways and tries to force modernization.
This has the vast grassland and wildlife. There are nice vistas. The story is something like "Dances with Wolves". It tries for an environmental native story but there are a couple of clunky situations that don't exactly fit. The local tribe is more in tune with the environment but they aren't always easy on it. The lead character Chen Zhen is desperately trying to save the wolf pup but it's not really a good idea. The story does not always work but it works enough.
This has the vast grassland and wildlife. There are nice vistas. The story is something like "Dances with Wolves". It tries for an environmental native story but there are a couple of clunky situations that don't exactly fit. The local tribe is more in tune with the environment but they aren't always easy on it. The lead character Chen Zhen is desperately trying to save the wolf pup but it's not really a good idea. The story does not always work but it works enough.