The Sales Girl

Absolutely unusual and sweet-heartedly amusing comedy from unimaginable Mongolia. Let’s move from steppes, yurts, horses, and nomadic life to vibrant, passionate, musical, and way too sexual (!!!) Ulaanbaatar. Provocative, candid, humorous, and audacious adventure, but without cheap stereotypes, any arousing vulgarity, or expected perversity. Blame it on a simple banana peel on which one young lady unwittingly slips and breaks her leg. The unlucky incident brings us to a naive introvert Saruul (the charming debut from Bayarjargal Bayartsetseg is the key to the film's raving success), who gets an offer to replace a classmate at their job in a sex shop. She studies nuclear physics and willingly follows her parents' orders but accepts the generously compensated and never before endured task.

During the day shy Saruul must discretely sell dildos and other peculiar sex toys. Few of them need to be delivered to households of lewd customers. Every evening she must bring her earnings to naughty narcissist owner Katya and sometimes feed her cute cat. The mysterious eccentric businesswoman instantly adores innocently blooming Saruul and step by step guides the sincerely curious employee to the hidden pleasures of adulthood.

After the international premiere in Busan (autumn of 2022) the quirky comedy of experienced but internationally unknown Mongolian film and theatre director Sengedori Janchirjorj rapidly blossomed into a darling of Asian cinema with a deserved victory in Vesoul and the audience award in Udine.

Edvinas Pukšta