Tulpan
Tulpan is a young woman in Kazakhstan who we never really get to see and whose role is minor yet significant. Asa is a young man back from a stint in the navy which is diametrically opposed to his barren landlocked home on the Kazakh Steppe. On his return he must share a tent with his sister and her nomadic family since he can not become a shepherd on his own – he must be married. Such is desert life on the wind blown Steppe. The comedic veneer of the movie shows Asa’s repeated marriage proposals to Tulpan but the real story is the insight into the lifestyle which, outside of a very few modern conveniences, is virtually the same feudal system that may have existed for millennia. As fascinating as this is one is further knocked out by the cinematography and its stunning recording of the starkly beautiful Steppe typography and the reality of creatures that eke out a living on it.