A love that binds

After discovering that his mother was repeatedly trying to leave the house to find her so-called "home", the son finally decides to load up some simple essentials — a tent and some kitchenware — onto his motorcycle and embarks on a quest to seek her "home". His only clue as to its whereabouts is an old photo, depicting a nondescript wilderness, the only landmark being a tree with its roots intertwined with another dead tree.

"The tale is very emotional and poetic. One could say it is both real and illusory, or even like a dream," says Cao, known for his iconic cinematography in several blockbusters such as director Chen Kaige's Legend of the Demon Cat and director Lu Chuan's Kekexili: Mountain Patrol.

Recalling that he first read the script at the recommendation of producer Liu Hui, Cao says he was attracted by the project for two reasons, one being its theme exploring universal anxieties about separation and passing away, the other being that the tale is about ethnic Mongolians.

"I have always been interested in the culture, landscape, customs and music of ethnic Mongolians. Besides, I haven't shot a movie entirely in a natural environment since Kekexili: Mountain Patrol, and I have been yearning to return to work in the wild," he explains.

He also mentions that Badma played a role in Urga, also known as Close to Eden, one of his favorite movies when he was studying at the Beijing Film Academy. Urga, which depicts an Inner Mongolian shepherd family, won a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1991.