Central Asian Cinema
The pacific cinematheque is currently screening a series called Along The Silk Road: Central Asian Cinema.
I watched 2 features and two shorts by two directors who I had no clue existed.
First was the short July by Darezhan Omirbaev. 25 minutes, beautiful black and white piece. 2 young boys go to a Bollywood movie in their desolate town. They want to see the second screening but have no more money. They try to sell melons to a passing train conductor, but the train pulls away while the guy is going to get the cash. Sad but great short.
The next film was also by Omirbaev: Kairat. Made in 1992, it's hailed as one of the best films of the 90's, and I was interested, but only up to a point. Kairat is a drifting kid, not really knowing where he's going or what he's doing. You hope something significant is going to happen, but nothing does! It's like Hitchcock without the suspense. No plot twists. No forward movement (aside from literal movement) and I found myself a wee bit annoyed that nothing was happening. I was just a voyeur at a film. Not much else to say. Well crafted, but lord almighty was I hoping for some action.
Second on the bill: My Brother Silk Road
This made up for my lethargic feelings after Kairat. Obviously Fellini inspired (I was reminded of Amarcord- especially with the fat prostitute), I thoroughly enjoyed Marat Surulu's excellent black and white snapshot of Kyrgyastan's silk road and steppes.
All of the characters are lively and interesting. I was falling in love with the lonely prostitute! It takes place almost entirely on a train and I want to see it again.
The Surulu short The Fly Up prior to "Silk Road" was good, but nothing special. His feature is worth seeing many times.
I'll be seeing some more films from "the stans": Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, & Kyrgyzstan. Rarely seen shit, for sure.
Last edited by Johann; 01-15-2004 at 02:52 PM.
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
Bookmarks