Their path follows a , once a life-giving "River Road" that supported lush grasslands but is now a barren wasteland of dust and sand. Along the way, the brothers must navigate not only the harsh physical landscape but also their own strained relationship, eventually uncovering a heartbreaking truth: their father has abandoned traditional herding for a desperate, illegal gold-panning operation. Themes and Cinematic Style

: Critics have praised the "masterfully lensed" nomadic road movie for its epic scale, contrasting the smallness of the children against the vast, unforgiving Gansu desert.

: By focusing on the Yugur people (a small subset of the Uyghur minority), Li Ruijun highlights the disappearance of nomadic traditions and languages.