The life on the Kazakh steppe must be one of the hardest in the world, at least if its depiction in this film is anything to go by: a world of arid plains, dust storms, and post-Soviet motorised transport that moves no faster than a camel can walk. 'Tulpan' provides a heart-felt depiction of this life (one really feels one understands the people's love for the animals on which they depend after watching it); but is also full of sly, silly comedy, the story of a sailor who dreamed of becoming a shepherd. However, there's not much dialogue, and at times it could have done with a faster pace. But it's a nice insight into a world away from that which most of us live in.

One of the reasons I like to watch movies from around the world is too observe the different locations, be they city or country. A while back I watched "Tony Manero", shot in Santiago Chile, in which the city setting was about the most desolate and depressing locale I've ever seen. The setting in Tulpan is certainly desolate, but it's not depressing. Having lived part of my younger life in places like that, it's almost uplifting.As are the cast. Samal Esljamova is one of the beautiful women I've ever seen. The kids are delightful - Maha the singer, Beke the news reciter, the little one who seems to enjoy taunting and annoying Beke. Beke seems to be the only one aware of the camera - I had the feeling that if the camera wasn't there, the little one might have received a few clips across the ear-hole.Boni is funny, and the episode with the vet is fascinating. I wasn't sure how scared of the mother camel the cast really were, but it certainly seemed real enough. The little touches were done so well - the relationship between Tulpan's parents for instance - the stoic mother, the father trying to exert his authority and being studiously ignored.And then comes the climactic scene, the birth of the lamb. Both this, and the previous scene in which Ondas attempts to revive a dying lamb, were just riveting to watch. For sure, the actor playing Asa didn't look too excited by it all, but the realism couldn't be faulted.I thought this was a great film, a film showing that despite the differences in how we live, we all share the same burdens and joys and ambitions.

I loved the epic documentary "Saltmen of Tibet," so I am a fan of dusty low-plot movies about someplace I'll never go. But TULPAN was terrible! I can't believe I sat through the whole thing.The assault on the senses, the constant noise of that bratty kid singing, that other kid shouting, the wind, the camel stampede or sheep stampede . . . what a beating you take just sitting there! The hideous scene of the children vying for the privilege of squeezing blackheads on their father's back? Honestly! Too bad we didn't get to watch somebody squatting behind a clump of dry grass.The depressing anti-heroism of Asa, a fool and a liar. Thinks he loves/wants a particular woman because it turns out she's his last hope of getting a herd of sheep. Now THAT is a courtship.The falseness of the animal scenes and story lines. If those ewes are malnourished, you sure can't tell from their energetic behavior. So don't ask me to believe that's why they're losing their lambs. If they're so malnourished, why are the lambs carried to full term and coming out more or less the right size? And how come, since much of the action revolves around moving the animals to pasture, we never once not once see a sheep or a cow or a camel EAT anything? And what's up with that healthy ewe delivering a healthy baby needing assistance from the idiot? Baloney.One thing that came through so very clearly is the horror of being a woman on that steppe. Stuck with cooking, cleaning, children. Tulpan wants to go to college and her mother violently chases away the suitor, presumably to spare her the life she, the mom, has endured. Asa's sister and niece are in some kind of cahoots to torment Ondas. I have to believe the filmmaker understands what he is showing, so maybe this whole horrible experience was a kind of feminist critique of a dying way of life that can't breathe it's last soon enough.So disappointing! The trailer was so wonderful! :(

Any film that depicts cultures that are mostly unknown here in the west are always a welcome one for me.Kazhak film maker, Sergei Dvortsevoy's 'Tulpan' is another one of those cinematic open windows. This gentle fable concerns a young man named Asa,who has just been released from the Russian Navy,and yearns for a wife,so he can be a right & proper shepherd. The fact that there are a lack of young women presents a problem. Asa,with the help of his friend tries to convince the parents of the last young woman,Tulpan (whom we never see on camera),that he is the man for her. Tulpan's parents are not impressed with Asa's tall tales & tells Asa that his ears are too big. Asa lives with his sister,Samal,her mean,brutish lout of a husband,Ondas & their three children. There are several sequences of Asa & Ondas dealing with the on going problem of lambs being born dead,as well as other problems. Sergei Dvortsevoy,who is generally known for his documentaries,directs & co writes (with Gennady Ostrovskiy)his first fictional film that still manages to convey a documentary feel. The unvarnished photography of Jola Dylewska depicts the harsh & breathtakingly beautiful landscape of the Kazakh steppes. Does Asa ever manage to get to Tulpan to ask for her hand in marriage? It's up to you to find out the answers to this & others. Comparisons to films such as 'Nanook Of The North',as well as 'Atanarjuat:The Fast Runner' will pop up. Spoken in Kazakh & Russian with English subtitles. Not rated by the MPAA,this film contains some profanity & some scenes that could upset young children involving an on screen birth of a lamb,and some dead lambs depicted on screen.