To the Wonder (2024)

As Kazakh person, this drama passed my vibe check:)

As a Kazakh, it was a must to watch this drama and I really enjoyed it. I’m also from a small village, but more modern / settled type, however some people from my village also go to summer ranches (zhailau/jailau) to herd their cattle. In my village there are many Kazakhs from China and Mongolia, so this drama really showed the vibe of jailau and life of people there. Especially, I was amazed with the actors play and how they delivered real life situations and conversations so naturally. I had a feeling as if I was living with them in that village and observing everything from outside. Also, respect to the male lead actor who is not Kazakh but was trying to pronounce some difficult words in Kazakh, yet other actors’ Kazakh language was authentic. There were many funny moments that maybe only Kazakh person(who speaks Kazakh) could understand, because of course as in any other languages there are some phrases or sayings that you can’t really translate without altering the meaning a bit. Overall, I enjoyed cinematography, music, acting, and plot as well. So, go watch it!!!

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Highly recommended adaptation of essays with ethnic scope

I loved watching this miniseries, that features some well known actors and actresses (Ma Yili, Zhou Yiran, Yu Shi) together with a cast that skillfully portrays the balance between ethnic minorities in the remote northwestern corner of Xinjiang where vanishing lifestyle competes with the hopes and toils of younger generations.

Rather than repeating myself, I will just refer to my Notes about the miniseries, that illustrate many of the thoughts that can be triggered by watching the series. The story can be watched with no prior knowledge, but raises questions that push to dig deeper. There are many nice touches and details, and the director herself did state that although humorous elements were added to the play, they were kept within a moderate range to prompt the audience to reflect. The balance is kept to avoid too much heaviness, and the pace is brisk, while the cinematography enhances the loveliness of nature, despite its sometimes harshness. Horse lovers will be drawn in by the horse raising culture of the herders, who also use camels, and breed fat sheep that can be milked and used to make medicinal soap! The togetherness and mutual support even by those who have a beef to chew against people who shoot their mouth too quickly, and offend them, introduces hope in human relations. Of course they are shielded by the remoteness, but Hotan jade is known, so poachers do come to threaten the peace.

The miniseries grows on the audience, while details raise questions. Love, pain, discoveries and healing are there. The impressive Douban rating of 8.5 (then, now risen to 9.4!) is totally justified.

More in my Notes : https://mydramalist.com/discussions/my-aletai/125351-to-the-wonder-notes-about-the-slice-of-life-tv-series

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“I see you clearly”, and I saw it all very clearly.

“I see you clearly”, and as I sat down and started watching this show, I saw it all very clearly.

I saw the beauty of nature, the breathtaking environment, the cultural heritage of the herders, the kind and warm-hearted Kazakh people and the ever changing times.

It’s a simple plot, but it’s beautifully told, with sympathetic depictions of the common minority folk and richly nostalgic evocations of rural life.

What a wonderful slow, character-driven story with its dreamlike quality, yet so detailed and personal that it captures and connects stunningly with so many lives.

I still have the lingering feeling of being intimately acquainted with the people living in the isolated yet beautiful landscapes of Altay.

The music score was just perfect and poignant; on more than one occasion I found myself shedding tears for the beauty of it.

I highly recommend this, and I am extremely grateful to the person who suggested it to me, as it is deserving of recognition and praise.

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Live, love and lost under the Big Sky

This is an adaptation of a book of prose by Li Juan. Changes were made to make it more suitable for live action. Read into that what you will.

This series has received some well-deserved attentions and solid ratings. I think it is largely due to its unique setting and a simple and honest storytelling amongst the sea of samey idol dramas.

The story is a mashup of the classic When Worlds Collide and Fish Out of Water tropes. They are oldies but goodies. In this case, our FL finds herself in a remote part of the Xinjiang autonomous region which is the definition of remoteness itself. So, you can imagine her culture shock.

BTW, the show was set over 20 years ago, so things are simpler back then, but changes are coming, just like winter. The straightforward plot largely centred on the lives of one Kazakh village, their friends and their interactions with FL's small family.

Historically, the Kazakh are nomads herders and each summer, the families would move with their herds to their summer pastures in the Altai mountains. In that sense, I prefer the Chinese title of My Altai which is more meaningful.

As the show opens, we find the older generation confused about the changes and "nonsensical" rules from people they can't relate to. While the younger generation is squeezed between two conflicting cultures. It is this tug-of-war that is the foundation of much of the drama in this series.

It is obvious that this show doesn’t have a big budget and can be a bit rough around the edges. Nevertheless, it is made with heart and a focus on authenticity. Local "actors" are used extensively. I won't go as far as saying they discovered new talents, but they managed to grab You Shi before he gained fame with his recent movie roles. He is all singing and all dancing here. He made the effort to learn the local dialect. While not 100% fluent, it is impressive, nevertheless. He also did all the horse riding stunts, and he sang in the local dialect. Kudos to him.

As I mentioned before, the show is like a breath of fresh air (or is that mountain air?), and you quickly become enmeshed in the village life. Their lives are ruled by the seasons and daily chores. It is a harsh but fulfilling life. You know life is tough when luxury is a dry bed.

They only break from the daily grind during festivals and celebrations like weddings. They certainly let their hair down during those rare occasions. Friendship is renewed and romance blossom. This is also an area where the generation gap rears it head. Some of the older generations are still engaging in matchmaking while the younger generations are doing their own thing. In a way, the show used the various romances to spice up the plot but it is a bit distracting when the landscape is such a magnificent stage and yet we are stuck in a yurt, watching the elders negotiate again and again.

I’m not sure these complications is the production trying to inject some relatable plots and angst for contemporary viewers. What is obvious is their influence on the last ep. It really was drama for drama’s sake and feels rushed. I’m not sure if it is necessary but it ended things with a bang. The last scene was a bit of a tease for us who are shipping the OTP. Will they? Won’t they? Maybe a second season will give us the answer. ;)

Regardless, this is a good show. It deserves all the kudos for doing something different. I appreciate the efforts the production invested to make it authentic and sincere. With such a short run-time, it is an easy binge. Give it a go, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Finally, the elephant in the room. The treatment of ethnic minorities and the flood of Han people into those remote regions is a sensitive topic. Several plots gave us a hint of what’s to come. The show's portrayal is restrained for obvious reasons. Enough said.

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A drama with mind-changing power about life and love

This drama makes me worry in its every episode that tragedy would be fallen to all characters. That shows how do I care so much about them. Every character is important and has meaningful story to tell. This drama is not afraid of showing human fragility and that everyone is prone to make mistake. When the finale gives a happy and touching ending, my heart is very satisfied. This drama tells a story about life, love, and how to go through after getting hurt, making mistakes, and experiencing lost of loved one. It teaches me a lot of things.

I am surprised that the story is actually so simple, but executed extremely well. The setting and its details on physical as well as cultural environment are so rich. The plot and plot-twist are engaging. And the conflict and its resolution are flawless. This drama should set new direction and trend for Chinese future drama that we can create a unique and refreshingly new story by paying attention to our reality and daily life. It brings up the romance of living in countryside and maintaining cultural tradition, as family values, and righteousness. You don't necessarily have to be rich to be happy or prestigious job and live in the city to have a decent satisfying life. Being anti-mainstream is all right. The most essential thing is how to learn to accept reality and flow flexibly with the river of life.

As a muslim viewer, I think this drama also do some justice. Muslim group as represented by Kazakh people in this drama is well depicted as part of bigger Chinese community, living together peacefully with other ethnicities like Han and Mongolian. Watching this drama is the first time I see Xinjiang and its beautiful natural features. It makes me eager to watch other series with similar genres, portraying different side of China. I recommend you to watch this. May this drama gain much recognition it deserves and much much more national and international viewers.

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A love for Altay

Stunning cinematography, heartwarming story, and stellar acting. I really loved this drama - watching Wenxiu evolve from a timid rabbit, watching the love between Batay and Wenxiu develop, and tender heartbreak that followed. It's a clear view into Kazakh nomad lifestyle and you feel not as an outsider, but part of the village, celebrating weddings through song and dance, small joys in finding wood ear, and family discussions on remarriage and who the children should follow.

I adore Wenxiu and Batay separately and together. They needed that three years apart to grow strong as individuals and experience their own dreams. I'm also so glad the drama ended with a happy ending for the couple. First drama of 2024 that had me so invested in the story and characters. What a joy to watch!

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To see the Altai clearly

To the Wonder, or My Altai, is a breathtaking cinematic treasure that takes the viewer to lush scenery of the Altai region in China's Northwest Xinjiang, predominantly inhabited by pastoral Kazakh herders. Each frame is aesthetically pleasing and invokes the pristine expansiveness of the region and a simple lifestyle that's rooted in the land and tradition. The actors deliver documentary-like performances where the Kazakh language is widely used. The well-known actors such as Ma Yili, Yu Shi, and Jiang Qiming were all quite impressive. Just as terrific were the ethnic Kazakh actors that embodied their roles with casual aplomb.

At just 8 episodes, the show journeys through the landscape at an idyllic pace, always moving, but at a deliberate enough pace to enjoy the beauty of the land and people. The show explores the tension between traditional and modernity, between a semi-nomadic pastoral lifestyle and greater opportunities in the cities, between the older and younger generation. In many ways, despite the radical difference in landscape, these themes are also ever-present throughout China, as over a billion people grappled with breakneck transformation whether they are in the cities, villages, or remote mountains. And here, the director does a tremendous job in depiction that these themes feel as if they are a part of the land, like a galloping horse pack or a winding stream. The show is clearly a work of respect and love for the region in how everything was depicted with care.

Everyone should check out this show, if for nothing else just to experience the type of serenity and peace that's becoming ever rarer in the world today.

‒Criticisms: You Don't Belong Here‒

The drama is so beautiful and soothing that I almost feel guilty giving criticisms. It's as if I'm deviating from the impeccable tranquility to deliberately miss the forest for the trees. It's as if I'm leaving a piece of plastic garbage that doesn't belong to the Altai. So stop reading if you want a unmarred viewing experience, as this is an exceptional 10/10 show for many people. In fact, I strongly recommend you to watch first, then read my critique later. As even delving into my issues with the show and expounding on them sullied my impression quite a bit. For some shows, it's important to know about issues ahead of time. But for this one, it's unnecessary and going in with an inspector's glass will only degrade the experience. Anyways...

My biggest issue is that the female lead also doesn't seem to belong here, in the Altai and in the show. I'm perfectly fine with the setup of a younger girl that grew up far more in the nearby city than in the pristine Altai. After all, the show is based on essays of the author reflecting on her own experience. My issue is that Li Wenxiu as portrayed by Zhou Yiran even stretches the believability of her character setup as a talented writer of that time period. It's as if LWX is from Shanghai, 20 years in the future. Indeed, her character is portrayed in very similar mannerism and disposition in Song of Life, where she plays a hipsterish, somewhat spoiled and dramatic young girl in Shanghai. That worked well then, but feels very out of place here. I found it very difficult to understand how she can grow up so sheltered and airheaded when her mother ZFX has such no-nonsense rustic personality. Such behavior would be rare in most places in 2000s China, much less given her background.

Moreover, most talented writers are observant, pensive, and reflective. LWX exhibited few of those qualities or the intellectual depths that can uphold her writer characterization. Instead, she spent a lot more time pouting, giving unsolicited advice, being lovestruck, and getting herself into trouble. Maybe the script is partly responsible, but I suspect a big part of the responsibility goes to ZYR's acting, where she's channeling too much of a modern girl than someone of her ostensible background. Moreover, she starts out like she didn't belong, which is forgivable and expected. But she finishes the show mostly the same, still looking out of place. Hell, she's more believable as a BL fanfic writer on MDL, sorry to 85% of you. I like the fact that she's an average and natural looking actress that CDramas desperately need more of, but I suspect there are many under-the-radar actresses who could have done a better job. And as one of the leads, she became a plastic garbage bag constantly floating in view, too unsightly to be ignored.

My second biggest issue is that I'd like even greater focus on the local herdsmen, their struggles, and perspectives. The drama does a commendable job for respectfully presenting their experiences, but I'd have preferred the whole show to be about them, as that was the most interesting part. Perhaps with LWX out of the way, that would be possible. On a lot of the themes, we only scratched the surface of tensions caused by change in the Altai. I wanted deeper reflections and more substantial resolutions.

Overall, I rate it 7.6 (initial impression before writing review was closer to 8) ‒> MDL 8.5. The visuals were easily a 9. And without the aforementioned issues, the show could have been 8 or 8.5 for me.

‒Category Ratings‒

- Overall - 7.6
- Plot - 7.5
- Theme / Concept / Impact - 8
- Acting - 8.5 (9 without ZYR)
- Visuals - 9
- Audio / Music - 8
- Rewatch - 7.5
- Accessibility - 8
- Subtitle quality - 8

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MASTERPIECE

I have so much to say, so bullets --

1. Although 8 episodes, that means it's really only 6 hours. Think of this is a crazy long quality movie.

2. I would bet everything I own on one hunch: this writer/director loves TCM (classic American cinema) and has decided to make a brand new DAYS OF HEAVEN, with dashes of LOCAL HERO and THE BIG COUNTRY. That means beautifully shot character studies of small communities. If you loved WONDER but have never seen any of these films -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! Stop reading this and rent all three movies. Or just buy them because like WONDER you'll rewatch them again and again and again.

LOCAL HERO fans will recognize the town party where everyone dances and the glance now and again to the sky. BIG COUNTRY fans will notice the long pointless fistfight that's shown from a discreet distance as well as the horse that's tricky to ride. But DAYS OF HEAVEN fans will see all sorts of similarities, from the photography to the Ennio Morricone like music cues -- and the final chase sequence -- which is as sudden and devastating here as it is in DAYS. Oh, and our female lead is sort of a combination of the leads in DAYS.

Please understand none of this is sleazy thievery. It's instead a grand tribute to a kind of cinema that's gone. I feel lucky to have found a film worthy of being compared to DAYS OF HEAVEN and LOCAL HERO. I had almost given up looking, and that search took decades.

UPDATE: Because of a snide comment I got elsewhere on this site, I guess I must share that these references I make could all just be coincidences. But I profoundly doubt it. It's just hard to believe that this brilliant a DP has never seen those three American films which are some of our best examples of photography. And don't get me started on the mountain scenes of A SOUND OF MUSIC...

3. The cast is great. You'll presume some of the leads are actual rural people turned into actors... and be wrong every time. You'll love the characters so much you could watch hundreds of hours with them as easily as this 6 -- which is why this piece has an insanely high rewatch value. Even though I haven't done it I promise the 2nd viewing will be rewarding.

4. Younger viewers will say, "Nothing happens." You can thank decades of crappy films and TIK TOK for eliminating your attention span. Plenty happens in this series, every second. But you're not watching plot. You're enjoying nuance. Subtle running jokes like the Grandma and potatoes, which is a nod to the dry humor of LOCAL HERO. The lead girl's YELPS. All destined to become classic moments.

There's a moment where the male romantic lead stumbles. In typical films this would never be shown, because why would the strong handsome male lead be shown as anything but his usual graceful self? The magic of WONDER is that his awkwardness is showcased. Movies are not about plot: they are human adventures.

So if you're a young person that's game to give this a try, turn off your phone while watching this, ask everyone in the room to be quiet, and ENJOY. Allow yourself to be absorbed into the proceedings.

5. I am as critical as people get, and so just because this piece strikes a chord with cinema from my youth doesn't mean I'm a pushover. There were two story moments that left me rather confused and I suspect during a rewatch it will be clearer. But in case that's not the case, let me share two moments that will help first time viewers.

The first is that this is a fish out of water story. The problem is we become confused at why our female lead isn't already familiar with rural living. We are told she was from a village, moved to the city , and now she's moved into the country. Something about how you're told this doesn't quite work. You feel like she's already lived this way before until you realize, no, I guess she hasn't. Both my wife and I were confused which informs they fumbled this critical setup detail.

The second is at the end. I won't spoil it. It could be a translation issue, but it's such an important line of dialog I suspect it's not that. Let me put it this way. In the final episode let's pretend our female lead wrote into her journal, "And I never saw New York City again." But then, at story's end, we're in NYC again. What the Huh?

What's being done here is weird. She is documenting that she never went to NYC again UP TO THE MOMENT she wrote this down. In English we'd instead say, "I never went back to NYC," which looks backward. To say the other thing implies the future, which our character can't know at the time of writing in her journal. You'll see what I mean when it happens.

These story bumps docked the story to a 9.5. But the average for the piece is still a 10.

6. My favorite C-Dramas (in quality) have been RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE and IMPERFECT VICTIM. TO THE WONDER leaves them in the dust. I predict Zhou Xun is going to beg to work with this director, Teng Cong Cong. Or vice versa. It would be a dream come true if they found each other and produced something WONDERful.

7. For romance fans, there are some interesting ones -- but the lead romance is a thing of genuine WONDER.

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To the Wonder.

What a stunning drama. With ease i could have given this drama 10s across the board, However nothing in this world is perfect. But it was very close to. It felt like i was watching a slice of life from another culture filmed as it is. It never crossed my mind that they were actors in a drama, it all felt so real. The scenery is just beautiful, i wish i could go there, it felt like there was space to breathe. I really hope it stays that way. Protected.
I found it touching and could relate to the struggles to cope with the changes to life, the new rules and regulations, and restrictions. I am more than old enough.
Thank you so much to the whole team for producing such an interesting, and thoughtful drama for us all to enjoy.

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Slice of life in a different world (from mine)

I decided to watch this drama because of Ma Yi Li. I watched her in a few other dramas and she was great. She was the only one I knew in this drama and decided to go ahead nonetheless. I must say that I was glad I did because I loved this short series dearly.

What I Loved About It:
- The cinematography was, to me, breath-taking. I liked the different shots of the scenery, the people, the animals...
- The acting was very good because it was very natural.
- "Oh my gosh, camels!" was my thought and I found it so amusing because it featured a slice of life which was so different from my own.
- There was a bit of a plot and romance and just plenty of small and biggish things going on in this place.
- It showed me a vastly different world from what I know and I felt intrigued and enlightened.
- I liked the romance between the Wen Xiu and Batay. They looked good together and I was glad that they were sincere about each other.
- A fairly happy ending in the end.
- Lessons -- Life happens. Choices have to be made in the spur of the moment or not but "time heals (?)" ... Life goes on. No matter where we are, we are just trying to make things work out (for us).

What I Didn't Like So Much:
- The scumbag in the form of Gao Xiao Liang made me detest him greatly. He was immoral and manipulative. He was a liar and a cheater. I hate such people.
- The death of Snowshoe turned out to be immensely sad. The whole scene tore me apart.

Overall, I am delighted to generously give this drama a 10/10. I truly enjoyed it and found this production full of heart. I highly recommend this drama! :o)
<3

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