Rarely do I root for a character to succeed as much as I was rooting for Kermek to fulfill his dream of building a movie theatre in the middle of nowhere.
The movie blends escapism and reality, as well as humor and tragedy. It offers some of the most memorable sequences I've seen in a long time, and it achieves that while being as minimal as it gets. There are almost no sets, little dialogue, we don't get to know much about any of the characters and, even though there is a plot and it develops in a linear way, that's not what really drives the movie. It's all about watching Kermek and Eva's journey, as they strive to build a cinema and, by extension a better world for them, unfazed by the bleak reality that everyone and everything around them adheres to. It's a slow journey, but it's worth it, for the aftertaste it leaves. I enjoyed every bit of it and it really stands out from everything else I've seen this year.
The movie blends escapism and reality, as well as humor and tragedy. It offers some of the most memorable sequences I've seen in a long time, and it achieves that while being as minimal as it gets. There are almost no sets, little dialogue, we don't get to know much about any of the characters and, even though there is a plot and it develops in a linear way, that's not what really drives the movie. It's all about watching Kermek and Eva's journey, as they strive to build a cinema and, by extension a better world for them, unfazed by the bleak reality that everyone and everything around them adheres to. It's a slow journey, but it's worth it, for the aftertaste it leaves. I enjoyed every bit of it and it really stands out from everything else I've seen this year.