Life at the foot of the Altai Mountains
It was a beautiful series. I watched it with pleasure and curiosity. It affected me. Because I am Turkish. I live in Türkiye. This series takes place in the foothills of the Altai Mountains, I think in the autonomous Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It's adapted from, or inspired by, the lifestyle of the Uyghur Turks. It depicts snippets from the life of a girl whose mother runs a shop in this rural area. This girl, Wen Xiu, wants to be a writer. She keeps a diary of her days there. She falls in love with Batay, a Kazakh Turk living in the region. That's the story told. The narrative is simple and straightforward. The rural landscape of the region is depicted with poster-like beauty; the cinematography was extraordinary. The lifestyle of the region is also portrayed; I found it similar to our own customs and traditions. We still have some of these customs. I think the families living there are Muslim and they celebrate Eid al-Adha. They go up to the highlands. They have horse races. They have fair-like celebrations. It's considered an old Turkish custom, but the tradition of a brother marrying his sister-in-law when his older brother dies is reflected here. Such customs no longer exist. There are no coercions, but they did until about 80 years ago. I don't know if anyone still practices it, but there's no obligation. The laws don't allow it. It's not a widely accepted practice.
Besides depicting environmental factors and the lifestyle there, the scene shows a lonely woman needing a man and perceiving this need as love, resisting her daughter's objections and pointing out her flaws, but siding with her daughter when she's in a difficult situation. Also, the scene of a man forced to shoot his horse because it dragged and injured his beloved daughter was impactful. These were dramatic scenes. However, because they weren't explored in depth or sensationalized, they were handled simply and plainly. I think that was a good thing. Otherwise, the series wouldn't have ended in 8 episodes; it would have been much longer. I understood the aim to show the life and customs there from an outsider's perspective. And that was well done.
A thief, a scoundrel, was portrayed, perhaps even a traitor, because bad things happen there sometimes. It was a good example of how they exploit the good intentions of innocent people by deceiving them, and also their emotions. The actor was portrayed as repulsive because of this. I really saw the repulsiveness, but I didn't understand how a woman could be so desperate to love this man. That's the kind of role Jing Qing Mi played. She did the role well. She was very repulsive. The acting was also simple and understated. No one was overly dramatic; everyone acted comfortably. They didn't struggle with their acting. Ma Yi Li stood out in this simplicity. I liked her unpretentious but heartfelt performance. I think she was the best.
I recommend it to those who like this type of drama.
Besides depicting environmental factors and the lifestyle there, the scene shows a lonely woman needing a man and perceiving this need as love, resisting her daughter's objections and pointing out her flaws, but siding with her daughter when she's in a difficult situation. Also, the scene of a man forced to shoot his horse because it dragged and injured his beloved daughter was impactful. These were dramatic scenes. However, because they weren't explored in depth or sensationalized, they were handled simply and plainly. I think that was a good thing. Otherwise, the series wouldn't have ended in 8 episodes; it would have been much longer. I understood the aim to show the life and customs there from an outsider's perspective. And that was well done.
A thief, a scoundrel, was portrayed, perhaps even a traitor, because bad things happen there sometimes. It was a good example of how they exploit the good intentions of innocent people by deceiving them, and also their emotions. The actor was portrayed as repulsive because of this. I really saw the repulsiveness, but I didn't understand how a woman could be so desperate to love this man. That's the kind of role Jing Qing Mi played. She did the role well. She was very repulsive. The acting was also simple and understated. No one was overly dramatic; everyone acted comfortably. They didn't struggle with their acting. Ma Yi Li stood out in this simplicity. I liked her unpretentious but heartfelt performance. I think she was the best.
I recommend it to those who like this type of drama.
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