Native Dancer
Director: Gulshat Omarova
Country: Kazakhstan
Runtime: 82
An aged femme shaman, gangsters and assorted innocents are thrown together in Kazakhstan-set drama "Baksy," helmer Guka Omarova's fluent sophomore outing. Although slightly less resonant than her similarly noir-inflected debut, "Schizo," the latest pic pulls off the same trick of making well-worn crime plotting look entirely natural within its Central Asian setting. Pic will definitely enjoy fest play, but the chances of "Baksy" securing wide distribution don't look any better than they did for "Schizo," which had a limited release Stateside and in a handful of Euro territories in 2005.
Wily and spry, but apparently as old as the windswept hills she lives beside, Aidai (Neisipkul Omarbekova) is a shaman, or baksy, in the local lingo. Endowed with psychic powers, she lives in a remote compound where visitors come in search of lost things, people or spiritual healing. Invariably, Aidai's predictions are correct, her healing powers the real deal, and the pic never questions the reality of supernatural forces in this contempo setting.
Some clients stay on to help Aidai out. Ten-year-old boy Asan (Almat Ayanov) is still living with Aidai after she cured him of his grief in the wake of his mother's death; the boy's father, businessman Batir (Farkhat Amankulov), who actually owns the ground the campsite's on, visits often.
Wanting to build a gas station and roadhouse on the campsite, super-smooth gangster Arman (Nurlan Alimzhanov) pressures Batir to sell the land, but he resists out of loyalty to Aidai. Nevertheless, Arman bribes cops into threatening to arrest the shaman. Rather than surrendering, Aidai wills her own heart to stop, although she miraculously resurrects later that day in the morgue and walks out.
About halfway through, the script, co-written by Omarova and Russian helmer Sergei Bodrov ("Mongol"), turns down the volume on the mysticism and ups the thriller element when Arman kidnaps Asan. Editing ratchets up the tension as Batir and Co. must either raise the ransom or find the hiding place, and the action incorporates scenes in the gritty, mean streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan's capital.
These urban sequences make a refreshing change from the continual emphasis on spectacular local scenery one finds in most Kazakh-set cinema. Indeed, Omarova and lenser Rafik Gallev don't rely on long shots for effect as much as one would expect, opting for tighter compositions that emphasize the people in the frame and their relationships. It's only when Aidai climbs the hills to her summon their magical powers, wailing on the summit and spinning around like a demented Kazakh version of Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music," does one get a sense of the synergy between character and environment.
Guka Omarova's fiery new feature sets witchcraft and the mob against each other on the dusty plains of Kazakhstan. Aidai (Nesipkul Omarbekova) is an elderly spiritual healer, a “Kazakh Baksy” who has the power to find a person's lost soul, heal the crippled and locate stolen cattle. For years, Aidai has been serving her local Kazakh community and living off the land of a rich businessman, Batyr (Farkhat Amankulov), who feels indebted to her because she helped his wife to conceive. When local gangsters decide that Batyr's land would be a prime location for a petrol station and a motel, Aidai puts up a fight, as the land is what connects her to her spiritual powers. Ignoring threats from the gangsters, Batyr goes away on vacation, but when he returns Aidai has disappeared and his land has been excavated. He is furious, so when the petrol station burns down in a freak accident, it seems like just revenge – until his son is kidnapped. Devastated and at a loss, Batyr goes looking for Aidai's help. Co-written and produced by the great Russian director Sergei Bodrov (Mongol), Native Dancer evokes the mysticism of fantasy and the thrills of a gangster film. Featuring strong, naturalistic performances, especially from Omarbekova (a real-life witch doctor), Native Dancer recalls the earthy visual style of Omarova's last film, Schizo, which played at the Festival in 2004. But with its hybridized genres, Native Dancer is far more epic in its scope. In this highly accomplished work, Omarova has crafted a captivating story that astutely highlights the clash between old Kazakh customs and the new Kazakhstan. Aida Begic's Snow, also playing at the Festival this year, touches on similar issues. As capitalist forces begin to encroach on tradition, the first casualty is often a culture's most fundamental inheritance – land. (Dimitri Eipides)
Country: Kazakhstan
Runtime: 82
An aged femme shaman, gangsters and assorted innocents are thrown together in Kazakhstan-set drama "Baksy," helmer Guka Omarova's fluent sophomore outing. Although slightly less resonant than her similarly noir-inflected debut, "Schizo," the latest pic pulls off the same trick of making well-worn crime plotting look entirely natural within its Central Asian setting. Pic will definitely enjoy fest play, but the chances of "Baksy" securing wide distribution don't look any better than they did for "Schizo," which had a limited release Stateside and in a handful of Euro territories in 2005.
Wily and spry, but apparently as old as the windswept hills she lives beside, Aidai (Neisipkul Omarbekova) is a shaman, or baksy, in the local lingo. Endowed with psychic powers, she lives in a remote compound where visitors come in search of lost things, people or spiritual healing. Invariably, Aidai's predictions are correct, her healing powers the real deal, and the pic never questions the reality of supernatural forces in this contempo setting.
Some clients stay on to help Aidai out. Ten-year-old boy Asan (Almat Ayanov) is still living with Aidai after she cured him of his grief in the wake of his mother's death; the boy's father, businessman Batir (Farkhat Amankulov), who actually owns the ground the campsite's on, visits often.
Wanting to build a gas station and roadhouse on the campsite, super-smooth gangster Arman (Nurlan Alimzhanov) pressures Batir to sell the land, but he resists out of loyalty to Aidai. Nevertheless, Arman bribes cops into threatening to arrest the shaman. Rather than surrendering, Aidai wills her own heart to stop, although she miraculously resurrects later that day in the morgue and walks out.
About halfway through, the script, co-written by Omarova and Russian helmer Sergei Bodrov ("Mongol"), turns down the volume on the mysticism and ups the thriller element when Arman kidnaps Asan. Editing ratchets up the tension as Batir and Co. must either raise the ransom or find the hiding place, and the action incorporates scenes in the gritty, mean streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan's capital.
These urban sequences make a refreshing change from the continual emphasis on spectacular local scenery one finds in most Kazakh-set cinema. Indeed, Omarova and lenser Rafik Gallev don't rely on long shots for effect as much as one would expect, opting for tighter compositions that emphasize the people in the frame and their relationships. It's only when Aidai climbs the hills to her summon their magical powers, wailing on the summit and spinning around like a demented Kazakh version of Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music," does one get a sense of the synergy between character and environment.
Guka Omarova's fiery new feature sets witchcraft and the mob against each other on the dusty plains of Kazakhstan. Aidai (Nesipkul Omarbekova) is an elderly spiritual healer, a “Kazakh Baksy” who has the power to find a person's lost soul, heal the crippled and locate stolen cattle. For years, Aidai has been serving her local Kazakh community and living off the land of a rich businessman, Batyr (Farkhat Amankulov), who feels indebted to her because she helped his wife to conceive. When local gangsters decide that Batyr's land would be a prime location for a petrol station and a motel, Aidai puts up a fight, as the land is what connects her to her spiritual powers. Ignoring threats from the gangsters, Batyr goes away on vacation, but when he returns Aidai has disappeared and his land has been excavated. He is furious, so when the petrol station burns down in a freak accident, it seems like just revenge – until his son is kidnapped. Devastated and at a loss, Batyr goes looking for Aidai's help. Co-written and produced by the great Russian director Sergei Bodrov (Mongol), Native Dancer evokes the mysticism of fantasy and the thrills of a gangster film. Featuring strong, naturalistic performances, especially from Omarbekova (a real-life witch doctor), Native Dancer recalls the earthy visual style of Omarova's last film, Schizo, which played at the Festival in 2004. But with its hybridized genres, Native Dancer is far more epic in its scope. In this highly accomplished work, Omarova has crafted a captivating story that astutely highlights the clash between old Kazakh customs and the new Kazakhstan. Aida Begic's Snow, also playing at the Festival this year, touches on similar issues. As capitalist forces begin to encroach on tradition, the first casualty is often a culture's most fundamental inheritance – land. (Dimitri Eipides)
