Love Yurts
I've mentioned in my other reviews of foreign language movies they can be a rewarding and unforgettable experience. Unforgettable experience is certainly a good term to use when describing "Tulpan", well any movie which not only pays reference to Prince Charles' ears but also features a camel in a side car is not something you are going to forget in a hurry. But that is just the whimsical part of "Tulpan" because here we have the unique mixture of a fictional story of a young man returning to life on the Steppes of Kazakhstan after serving in the Russian Navy interspersed with documentary style footage which highlights the harshness of life on the unforgiving Steppes.
Having returned from serving in the Russian Navy Asa (Askhat Kuchencherekov) finds himself living with his sister, her abrupt husband and unruly children in their yurt on the Steppes of Kazakhstan. Asa wants to become a herder but until he finds a wife the Boss wont let him have a herd and unfortunately for Asa the only single woman Tulpan is not interested in him because of his sticking out ears. But at the same time his sister Samal and brother-in-law Ondas are having a hard time as their sheep are giving birth to still born lambs.
Whilst "Tulpan" is a mixture of documentary with this whimsical tale it is for me best to describe them separately. The whimsical side of "Tulpan" is simply charming from Asa's friend Boni and his love of the song "By the Rivers of Babylon" through to such curiosity of the camel in a side car and the vet scared of the camel's mother. It probably sounds quirky and in many ways it is but at the same time the quirkiness of it feels strangely natural, as if a camel in a sidecar wouldn't be an unusual sight in the area. And at the same time the humour of Asa and his desire to marry, his endeavours to woo Tulpan despite her not being interested adds to the charm.
But the most memorable aspect of "Tulpan" is the documentary side from the cramped living conditions in the yurt to the harshness of the windy and dusty Steppes. Trust me when you see the first mini tornado it knocks you back and when later on you see one near a yurt it just makes you realise how tough life is for these herdsmen and their families. But then at the same time you have the powerful and scenes of Asa helping a struggling sheep give birth are so mesmerising that it is an experience you are never going to forget.
It means that "Tulpan" is a strange experience of entertaining and eye opening and not something you are going to forget. And as such director Sergei Dvortsevoy has done a remarkable job of making a movie about sheep herding on the Steppes entertaining often blurring the line between fact and fiction so you are never entirely sure of whether something is real life or not.
What this all boils down to is that "Tulpan" is a memorable experience, a movie which manages to deliver the harshness of life living on the Steppes of Kazakhstan with a whimsical tale of a man wanting to marry and become a herder himself. It isn't going to be for everyone and most certainly not something I would recommend to those not accustomed to foreign language movies but for those who are open to different experiences "Tulpan" certainly is one.
