Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Product Description
Kazakh documentarian Segei Dvortsevoy won the prix Un Certain Regard for this, his first feature - an astonishing ethnographic drama-cum-wildlife movie. As comic as it is awe-inspiring, Tulpan is set in the vast emptiness of southern Kazakhstan's Hunger Steppe. Having completed his miltary service, a young nomad named Asa returns home to his brother-in-law's yurt with hopes of becoming a shepherd. But is such a a life any longer possible in the moder world? First, Asa must wind the affections of his beautiful neighbour, Tulpan. Dvortsevoy gives us the bleak beauty of the steppe's windswept landscape: the endless sky, the camel stampedes, the raucous behaviour of a reggae-loving teamster, and one of the most remarkable animal birth scenes ever captured on film.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A very romantic insight for life in Kazakhstan "steppe". Sadly for non-russian speakers, you will be missing some really funny bits as: the main hero, sailor, is mostly speaking russian (as he spent his life in Sakhalin Island, Russia). He hardly understands his native Kazakh language, and being unaware what Tulpan told to her parents about his ears - until his brother-in-law rudely informs him, interrupting his phantasy on their way back to Onkas' "jurta". In contrast, all the family speaks Kazakh (except the woman, sailor's sister, who is equally fluent in both). Its supposed to be manifestation of disrespect from Onkas who is annoyed with this "useless" addition to his family.
Its a very entertaining watch, but a bit sweetened up - even a giving birth ship is shown beautifully. A boyish look at cruel "steppe", an impression of the young man who does not want to say bye to his dream.
Tulpan is obviously "Tulip" in english- it explains why the sailor who never saw this girl (only her hair and hands) when falling in love, draws tulips everywhere.
To see this movie or not - it depends on how much you are interested in life somewhere else. When it was shown in Durham, there were 5 people who decided to go to see it - certainly not a hit locally. Sadly.
Its a very entertaining watch, but a bit sweetened up - even a giving birth ship is shown beautifully. A boyish look at cruel "steppe", an impression of the young man who does not want to say bye to his dream.
Tulpan is obviously "Tulip" in english- it explains why the sailor who never saw this girl (only her hair and hands) when falling in love, draws tulips everywhere.
To see this movie or not - it depends on how much you are interested in life somewhere else. When it was shown in Durham, there were 5 people who decided to go to see it - certainly not a hit locally. Sadly.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I enjoyed this film, which took me into a completely new world (one in which I would not choose to live!), that of sheep farmers on the Steppes in Khazakhstan. Asa, back from military service in the navy, wants to settle as a sheep farmer, get his own flock, live a happy family life. His brother-in-law Ondas, who is a shepherd working for the local boss, does not think much of him, and to be able to get a flock Asa must marry - but the only available girl locally, Tulpan, will not have him (he has big sticky-out ears, and that appears to be the problem, even though he can prove by means of a magazine cutting that Prince Charles's ears are bigger- and he's a prince, albeit, they believe, an American one). Asa does his very best with the sheep, but he is inexperienced and rather inept, and it does not turn out all that well for him.
The film is in many ways absorbing and even delightful. This comes mainly from the landscape of the Steppes, beautifully filmed, the huge skies, the strange lifestyle of the small family on whom the film centres, some songs, stark realism in the birth of stillborn sheep and a little perhaps unintentional humour ('There is too much pornography in this tractor!' says Ondas, arguably justifiably). It is also certainly the only film in which you will see an entirely credible episode in which two men on an ancient motorbike with a bandaged immature camel in the sidecar are followed and harassed by the camel's mother. I enjoyed it and found it fresh and certainly very unusual. I'm sure it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a good film and well worth a look.
The film is in many ways absorbing and even delightful. This comes mainly from the landscape of the Steppes, beautifully filmed, the huge skies, the strange lifestyle of the small family on whom the film centres, some songs, stark realism in the birth of stillborn sheep and a little perhaps unintentional humour ('There is too much pornography in this tractor!' says Ondas, arguably justifiably). It is also certainly the only film in which you will see an entirely credible episode in which two men on an ancient motorbike with a bandaged immature camel in the sidecar are followed and harassed by the camel's mother. I enjoyed it and found it fresh and certainly very unusual. I'm sure it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a good film and well worth a look.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a fantastic meditation on isolated Nomadic life. The characters are portrayed delicately yet contain a vast amount of depth, and the story itself is incredibly touching. I think most of the characters are not well established actors which actually in turn makes for a more believable, and documentary-like feel to the film.
You will not regret this purchase!
You will not regret this purchase!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Chasing the Kazakh dream
Tulpan is a warm, occasionally funny (if not always happy) movie, about a wannabe shepherd on the Hunger Steppe of Southern Kazakhstan. Read more
Published 6 months ago by AK
Tulpan
A simply delightful tale of life as a shepherd on the harsh and waterless steppes of post Soviet Kazakhstan. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Peter Harris
Beautiful
I loved every minute of this film. I imagine this is how life has been on the Steppe for thousands of years with very little change. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Peter
ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!!!
I am a bit of a fraud, because my husband and I saw this on Film 4 some months ago, although I would have bought it had I been presented with the option earlier. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Kristin
a boring non story.
if you want to see the sky and barren land and no sense,o substance of a film,it will be fine for you.but it was a waste of money and time for me.
Published 11 months ago by Ms. J. Houlding
Reflections on an unusual film
I watched Tulpan out of curiosity as I get a little tired of the cinematic fare from the West that is often served up. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Revd R. B. Miller
Humans, sheep and camels
Thru out the film, I kept wondering where they got these wonderful actors. Unlike other movies with a similar setting - "Cave Of The Yellow Dog" or the even better "The Story Of... Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. A. Eyon
DVD: Tulpan
This DVD is amazing and very different from any film we'd seen before. We watched it 2 evenings in succession in order to totally understand all the elements contained within it.
Published 24 months ago by Joan Hudson
A steppe in the right direction...
If you've seen any films based on nomadic people on the steppes of Mongolia (The Cave of the Yellow Dog, The Story Of The Weeping Camel, Mongolian Ping Pong) or indeed in the... Read more
Published on 24 May 2010 by Keris Nine
A Shepherd's Life in Kazakhstan.
Wham! Every so often a film comes along that hits you right between the eyes. Film making does not have to be complicated. Read more
Published on 1 May 2010 by Bob Salter
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
