From Uzbekistan comes what can only be called a revelation.
Let’s deal with the story quickly—an isolated landowner brings home a new, young wife as his other wives have not produced an heir. Tensions inevitably surface, heightened by the fact that it is 1920 and the Bolsheviks are advancing as the Civil War winds down. This house cannot endure. There are echoes of Bronte, and the climax is pure Tarkovsky. But if you appreciate the careful construction of images, this is a film that will leave you thunderstruck. The care and intricacy with which every shot is conceived and executed is truly impressive. Director Yolkin Tuychiev stages long takes that flow around the single location in which the film is staged, demonstrating that in the hands of an inventive filmmaker, there is infinite variety in limited means.
