Stranger

This United States Premiere was submitted by Kazakhstan to the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival. "Zhat" (English captions) centers around an orphaned boy who goes to live in the wilderness during the days leading up to WWII. His village is depredated by the Germans, then falls under the boot of the USSR after the war ends, but he remains an outsider, still in love with the girl he left behind.

Director Yermek Tursunov has been working on this autobiographical trilogy for some time. This is his final chapter. He wants to remind us that over 5 million men, women and children died in Kazakhstan during the first half of the 20th century. In this chapter we watch a little boy grow to a man, sharing his living quarters with the colt he fled with (now a horse) and a pack of wolf cubs he rescued from their mother's corpse. He stays in touch with an old man in his village, which seems to be how he exchanges animal pelts for gunpowder and other supplies. The old man describes Pope Julius as "sort of grand mullah..."

We come to know many of the villagers and watch them cope with aging and injuries. Stunning scenery and interesting animal photography add to the story. In my opinion, the lesson we learned is "No good deed goes unpunished." I found this absolutely fascinating, yet difficult to watch.