Narrative, 2008
Director: Rustem Aborashev
Israel, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russsia/ Hebrew, Kazakh, Russian with subtitles
97 minutes
Ethnic persecution under Stalin's regime in the postwar Soviet Union is told graphically through the memories of a Jewish child found by a Muslim rail worker in a railcar filled with dead bodies on a train full of ethnic minorities being deported to Central Asia in terrible conditions. He is nursed back to health, hidden, and cared for by a surrogate family. Can they hide and protect him? Will he ever be reunited with his exiled parents?
The mood of this movie is dark and depressing, and the cinematography gives it the feel of a much older film. The events that occur feel forced in the extent and randomness of their horribleness. Sometimes less is more, especially when the situation is terrible enough on its own.
Lucy Cruell