Two Hearts is a 2017 film from Mongolia directed by Byambaa Ganbold.
The film opens with a father, Galaa, looking after his son Jargal—in an intensive care unit. It seems that at some point in the backstory Jargal, who is not quite eight years old, suffered a traumatic brain injury under uncertain circumstances. He has been in a coma for months, and the doctors hold no hope that he will regain consciousness.
Meanwhile, in the same ICU ward is Uchral, a little girl of roughly the same age. Uchral, who was an orphan on the streets, collapsed one day. She was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a heart ailment that will require a transplant. A magazine reporter named Margad is writing a feature about Uchral, and hopes to get her a new heart. Soon her attention, the hospital's attention, and the magazine's attention all turn to the still-beating heart of the comatose Jargal.
Tropes:
- Convenient Coma: Played with. Jargal, who was said to be in an irreversible coma with no hope of recovery, wakes up. He appears to be alert and with no after effects from either his brain injury or his coma—that is, until he up and dies out of nowhere.
- Death of a Child: Jargal, injured in a freak accident and left in a coma. He wakes up, only to suffer some sort of setback and die for real.
- Delicate and Sickly: Uchral, a cute little girl in desperate need of a heart transplant. Jargal is sort of this, except that there seems to be no hope for his recovery.
- Downer Beginning: The film opens with Galaa already in the hospital, sitting vigil besides his comatose son.
- Fake Charity: Galaa meets a man from a charity who promises that he can get the money to fly Jargal to Germany for treatment that will revive him...but Galaa has to put down a deposit. Galaa sells his apartment and gives the man all the money. He's a con artist, who promptly disappears.
- Flashback: Several, showing the happy life of the loving father and son, before tragedy struck.
- Flyaway Shot: The last shot of the movie is the camera flying up and away from Galaa and Uchral, on top of a mountain, flying the remote controlled plane that was meant for Jargal.
- Jerkass: The asshole security guard who won't let Galaa in to see his son—on Jargal's 8th birthday, no less—because he thinks Galaa is drunk. The altercation that ensues gets Galaa arrested, convicted for disturbing the peace, and sent off on a prison work detail, all while folks at the hospital are maneuvering to pull his son's plug.
- Life Will Kill You: Jargal was injured in the most ridiculous of freak accidents. He was walking through the shantytown region of Ulaanbaatar, while a drunk inside his shanty tore the place apart looking for vodka. The rickety little shack collapsed, injuring Jargal who was right outside at just the wrong moment.
- Missing Mom: It's implied that the mother died. The only hint is a question from Jargal to his father in a flashback about whether or not the mother was happy to have him.
- The Plot Reaper: Jargal wakes up. Everyone is shocked. Margad apologizes to Galaa for trying to have his son's plug pulled. Then something happens, and whatever it is, Jargal suddenly dies in his room. Uchral gets the heart after all.
- Time Lapse: A time lapse sequence shows the sun setting and the lights of Ulaanbaatar coming on at night.
