Review of Tulpan (2009) by Matt J — 03 May 2009

Interesting one.

Based in the harsh deserts of Kazakhstan, Tulpan follows the life of Asa in his quest for a wife. In order for Asa, a former Russian sailor, to inherit his own flock of sheep and livestock he must first find a wife. It is understood that while the male is looking after and herding the livestock all day he must have a female companion staying home to look after the washing, cooking and cleaning (feminists would love this notion!).

The difficulty for Asa, who lives with his older sister, her husband and their children, is that the only women within any sort of distance of him is a girl named Tulpan who lives a day's drive from his yurt (house/tent type thing). The other problem for him is that Tulpan (who stays behind a curtain during the marriage negotiations) doesn't want to marry Asa because he has big ears.

Asa must continue to work with his sister's husband Ondas who is rude and controlling. The work herding the livestock but encounter problems when Ondas' sheep continue to give birth to dead lamb.

For those who haven't heard much about the film it is the deubt work of director Sergei Dvortsevoy and it has subtitles.

It was shot, so it felt, in a documentary style even thought is fictional. The camera work has quite shaky and often single shots would go for a number of minutes, a technique rarely, if never, used in Hollywood. The wind also contributed to a difficulty in hearing the dialogue (which didn't matter to much because I don't speak Kazakh or Russian or whatever langauge the speak) which also contributed to the documentary feel.

I also felt a little bit cheated with the ending. I've never been one to give much away on these reviews but I just wanted to mention that.

On the most beautiful (yet so disgusting) scenes I've seen to date is the one were Asa helps a sheep give birth. This scene, shot in real time, is both incredibly grose and powerfully enriching as you see the previously useless Asa give the struggling lamb mouth to mouth (oooo!) in order for it to takes it first breath. The shot of Asa lying satisfied on the dusty ground juxtaposed with the sheep and lamb uniting for the first time is pretty special.

Still, 'Tulpan' is very, very arthouse. I can't say I'd recommend to many people because I know a lot of you would hate it. As for me, the more I think about it, the more I appreciate it - but it wasn't groundbreaking or something I would rush to see again.

It was a sweet little film, highlighting the importance of family sticking together in times of need.