(Print courtesy of Seagull Films)
Ardak Amirkulov, Kazakhstan, 1990; 165m (NY Premiere)
Ardak Amirkulov’s 1990 historical epic about the intrigue and turmoil
preceding Genghis Khan’s systematic destruction of the lost east Asian
civilization of Otrar is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The movie
that spurred the extraordinary wave of great Kazakh films in the 90s,
Amirkulov’s movie is at once hallucinatory, visually resplendent and
ferociously energetic, packed with eye-catching (and gouging) detail and
B-movie fervor, and traversing an endless variety of parched, epic
landscapes and ornate palaces. But THE FALL OF OTRAR is also one of the
most astute historical films ever made, and its high quotient of torture
and gore (Italian horror genius Mario Bava would have been envious) is
always grounded in the bedrock realities of realpolitik: when the
Kharkhan of Otrar is finally brought before the Ruler of the World, he
could be facing Stalin, or, for that matter, any number of modern CEOs.
The movie that has everything, from state-of-the-art 13th century
warfare to perfumed sex, THE FALL OF OTRAR is a one-of-a-kind
experience. Shot in a sepia-toned black and white with occasional
splashes of color, and written by none other than Alexei Guerman and his
wife Svetlana Karmalita. In Kazakh, Chinese and Mongolian with English subtitles.
Aug 23: 1 & 8; Aug 24: 4:30
Aug 25: 1 & 8; Aug 26: 4:30
Aug 27: 1 & 8
Aug 28: 4:30
Aug 29: 1 & 8
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