Tulpan (2008)

96% of critics liked it
(67 reviews)
63% of users liked it
(2,688 ratings)

Having just completed his naval service, a young man travels back to the Kazakh steppe to take a bride and begin his new life as a shepherd. Asa is eager to go back to the countryside, where he plans on living a nomadic life along with his sister and her husband. His sister's husband is a shepherd,… More Having just completed his naval service, a young man travels back to the Kazakh steppe to take a bride and begin his new life as a shepherd. Asa is eager to go back to the countryside, where he plans on living a nomadic life along with his sister and her husband. His sister's husband is a shepherd, a career that Asa, too, hopes to someday undertake. But before that happens, Asa will have to find a bride -- not an easy task on the deserted steppe. Young Tulpan is the daughter of another shepherd family and the most obvious choice, yet she isn't attracted to Asa due to his big ears. Will Tulpan ever be able to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a shepherd, or is he forever condemned to lead the life of a lonely bachelor? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Sergei Dvortsevoy
Written By: Sergey Dvortsevoy, Gennady Ostrovskiy
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 1, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Sep 22, 2009
Studio: Zeitgeist Films

Critic Reviews

Tom Long, Detroit News
A coming-of-age story that also examines the pull and push of the modern and traditional, Tulpan is a striking, unique, narrative feature debut for director-writer Sergei Dvortsevoy.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Quite extraordinary. Gently comic, ultimately stirring, the nomadic world Dvortsevoy chronicles pays loving attention to the lives of both humans and animals -- interdependent residents in a difficult, memorable part of the world.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Tulpan is an amazing film. It shows such an unfamiliar world, it might as well be Mars.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
With a deadpan charm all its own, Tulpan ends up dealing with some fairly serious questions on the order of how you make peace with a dream.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
This uncategorizable story, both ancient and modern, is, simply and poetically, about a nomad looking to make his home.
Dan Kois, Washington Post
To certain serious world-cinema aficionados, Tulpan's combination of understated comedy and documentary-level depiction of rural Kazakh life will be catnip.
Don Groves, sbs.com.au
Finally, a Kazakh character to cheer for!
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
The film's pervasive (and downright aggressive) lack of plot undoubtedly exacerbates its problems...
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Uma obra absolutamente mágica.
Patrick Peters, Empire Magazine
Perceptive and humorous, this gentle drama is uplifting and resonant.
David Jenkins, Time Out
Dvortsevoy exhibits the storytelling composure and technical proficiency of a veteran, while his keen eye for a pastoral poetic flourish places 'Tulpan' firmly among the year's most endearing cinematic experiences.
Kevin Maher, Times [UK]
[A] beguiling feature debut.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
An eminently lovable film.
Sukhdev Sandhu, Daily Telegraph
A gorgeously-shot and often-funny story... An absolute treat.
Matt Bochenski, Little White Lies
Investing the ethnographic documentary with sly wit and wry absurdity, Sergei Dvortsevoy's Tulpan is a quiet revelation.
David Parkinson, Radio Times
An irresistible mix of whimsical and raucous humour that leavens the bleakness of that environment
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
The film is irresistibly human and funny, and properly momentous when calamity strikes.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
Feels more like something from National Geographic than a feature film. For some, the lamb-birthing scene will be a steppe too far.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
An emotionally engaging drama that succeeds thanks to its combination of offbeat humour and intriguing characters, set against an almost impossibly bleak landscape.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Features situations that are recognisable simply because the people involved are so realistic.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Tulpan," Asa(Askhat Kuchinchirekov) is home from the navy and is seeking a wife, so he can get a flock of his own from his brother-in-law Ondas(Ondasyn Besikbasov) who feels that a herdsman cannot survive without a wife to take care of the domestic… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Tulpan," Asa(Askhat Kuchinchirekov) is home from the navy and is seeking a wife, so he can get a flock of his own from his brother-in-law Ondas(Ondasyn Besikbasov) who feels that a herdsman cannot survive without a wife to take care of the domestic duties that are required, not to mention the whole business of having children and raising a family. At the same time, the sheep are having no problem getting pregnant, but are having a great deal of difficulty giving birth to live offspring which endangers the livelihood of the shepherds living on the desolate Kazakh steppe who have never seen an ocean, much less a body of water. So, when Tulpan rejects Asa as a husband, it is not because of physical appearance, it is because of what kind of husband he would make and what kind of future they would have together. Along those same lines, Asa is considering moving to the city with his pal Boni(Tulepbergen Baisakalov).[/font] [font=Century Gothic]If only the story had been stronger and photography had been better, "Tulpan" might have been truly something. Handheld photography is meant for intimacy and works best inside, whereas here the terrain should have been one of the central points of interest. As it is, it is a fairly interesting look at a different way of life.[/font]
Lesley N

A drama about rural life in the Kazakhstan Hunger Steppe. Living with his sisters family, brother Asa attempts to marry the only eligible woman around, so he can become a herdsman, while everyone else attempts to get by in the barren wasteland, by tending the sheep, listening to Boney… More
A drama about rural life in the Kazakhstan Hunger Steppe. Living with his sisters family, brother Asa attempts to marry the only eligible woman around, so he can become a herdsman, while everyone else attempts to get by in the barren wasteland, by tending the sheep, listening to Boney M played loud, reciting the day's radio news or pretending a stick is a horse (little Nuka roams around the film set, oblivious to everything) . All the actors bar one had no acting experience so the film feels like more of a documentary than a fiction, and the story is good, and gently humourous. And it will definitely improve your knowledge of Kazakhstan if all you've watched so far is BORAT. <img src="http://www.newint.org/columns/media/film/2009/12/01/428-30-tulpan.jpg">