THE HORSE THIEVES. ROADS OF TIME, 2019

Directors: Yerlan Nurmukhambetov, Lisa Takeba

Eastern, Drama

Logline:
Foothills of Tian Shan. Gangsters murder a father of a young family and steal the herd of horses that belonged to the village. To compensate the debts the family sells the house and move. On their way they collapse with gangsters.

Synopsis:

Father of little Olzhas is killed by horse thieves on the day he goes to a market. Now, his mother decides to move back to her hometown with kids and take the horses the father has left behind. A strange man shows up on their door asking to meet Olzhas for once, and volunteers to help their move. In the beautiful countryside of Kazakhstan, the film portrays little Olzhas growing from childhood to adolescence through the time he spends with the mysterious man on the road.

Directors: Yerlan Nurmukhambetov, Lisa Takeba

Scriptwriter: Yerlan Nurmukhambetov

Producers: Yuliya Kim, Shozo Ichiyama, Hikaru Kinouchi

Executive Producer: Assel Yerzhanova

Production Designer: Alexandra Shegay

Director of Photography: Aziz Zhambakiyev

Music: Akmaral Zykayeva (Mergen)

Starring: Samal Yeslyamova, Mirai Moriyama, Madi Menaidarov, Dulyga Akmolda

FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS:

WORLD PREMIERE – October 3, 2019 – OPENING FILM of Busan International Film Festival:

APSA (Asian Pacific Screen Awards) – Samal Yeslyamova – “Best Actress” nominee – 21/11/2019

Tokyo International Film Festival (Special Screening) – 30/10/2019 and release in Japan – 18/01/2020:

Göteborg International Film Festival – European Premiere – 24/01/2020

Backstage:

Busan International Film Festival:

One morning, a man goes to a town market to sell his horses with the other villagers. After exchanging affectionate glances with his wife and leaving his children, the man goes to the market and is killed by horse thieves. The wife holds the man’s funeral and decides to return to her family with her kids. Then, another man who left her 8 years ago without leaving any notes appears and helps the woman move. Somehow, the son of the wife resembles the man. They go out on horseback together and bump into the horse thieves.

Shot by Aziz ZHAMBAKIEV who previously won the Silver Berlin Bear, the film perfectly embodies the aesthetics of the widescreen and also features genre fun in addition to the beauty of the margins unique to the Central Asian films. Whereas the duel with the horse thieves driving dozens of horses over the grassland provides the sense of urgency and the exciting spectacles. It that sense, it’s worthy of being called a Kazakhstan version of ‘Western.’

REVIEWS:

Busan International Film Festival

Screen Daily – Interview

The Hollywood Reporter – Film Review

Variety – Review

The Hollywood Reporter – BIFF Opening Film

Variety – BIFF Opening Film

Esquire.kz

Japanese release & info

Japanese Press

Казахское кино: Итоги десятилетия

Итоги казахстанского киногода