Feature film
The Fall of Otrar
Отырардың күйреуі
Ardak Amirkulov · 1991
Synopsis
Beginning of the thirteenth century. Central Asia is a string of fortified cities held by Khorezm, whose shah watches the West and does not see the East coming. Unju, back from among the Mongols, learns of the invasion being prepared and tries to warn the rulers of Khorezm; he runs up against the intrigues of those who have an interest in believing nothing, while Kayir Khan holds Otrar and Genghis Khan's army draws near.
Context
The screenplay is by Svetlana Karmalita and Aleksei German, who produced the film and entrusted its direction to the young Amirkulov, for whom it was a first feature; the shoot, begun in 1987, saw the Otrar set rebuilt three times and stopped for lack of money. The film, in black and white tinted sepia with passages in colour, is spoken in Kazakh, Russian, Mongolian and Mandarin. Shown in Nantes as early as 1991, the first Kazakh film submitted for the Oscar for foreign film, it was restored by Martin Scorsese's foundation and the Cineteca di Bologna, and re-released on both sides of the Atlantic.
Who it is for
Almost three hours, subtitled. It helps to know that in the thirteenth century Khorezm was a Muslim empire recently freed from the tutelage of Baghdad.
Prizes and reception
International critics' prize at the Montreal festival in 1991, State prize in 1993 to the film's team; restored in 4K in 2024 and rereleased in cinemas.
Sources for this page 5
The pages consulted to check this page.