Ulzhan
{{Infobox film
| name = Ulzhan
| image = Ulzhan.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Volker Schlöndorff
| producer = Regis Ghezelbash
Sergey Azimov
Richard Martin Jordan
| writer = Jean-Claude Carrière
Volker Schlöndorff
| starring = Philippe Torreton
Ayanat Ksenbai
David Bennent
| music = Bruno Coulais
Kuat Shildebayev
Ruben Haroutunian
| cinematography = Tom Fährmann
| editing = Peter R. Adam
| studio =
| distributor = Rezo Films
| released = {{Film date|2007|12|13|df=yes}}
| runtime = 105
| country = France
Germany
Kazakhstan
| language = French
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Ulzhan is a 2007 drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring Philippe Torreton, Ayanat Ksenbai (formerly credited as Ayana Yesmagambetova{{Cite news|url= http://www.dinaview.com/?p=102|title=Kazakh actress Ayanat Xenbay (a.k.a. Ayana Yesmagambetova), who was in Volker Schlöndorff's Ulzhan (2007) and in the Kazakh epic Nomad (2005). |access-date=2009-03-10}}) and David Bennent.
Plot
The Frenchman Charles travels in Kazakhstan and when his car stops working, he is determined to continue his journey by walking until he can get a horse. The young local French teacher Ulzhan decides to accompany and support him. She learns that Charles is heading for the mountain Khan Tengri. Along the way they are joined by New Age shaman Shakuni. They all approach the storied mountain which Shakuni considers holy. Whether they will find there a hidden treasure or salvation is left to the viewer's speculation.
Reception
In Germany "Ulzhan" received "predominantly positive press reviews".{{Cite news|url= http://www.offscreen.com/index.php/pages/essays/ulzhan/|title= Following its world premiere at the May 2007 Cannes Film Festival, Ulzhan was released in Germany on December 13, to predominantly positive press reviews. |access-date=2008-05-12 |location=Austin |work=www.offscreen.com |first=Hans-Bernhard, George|last= Moeller, Ellis}} Hans-Bernhard Moeller (associate professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin{{Cite news|url= https://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/germanic/faculty/h-bm393|title= Hans-Bernhard Moeller, Professor Emeritus — Ph.D., German, University of Southern California, Los Angeles|access-date=2012-03-10}}) and George Lellis (professor of communication at Coker College{{Cite news|url= http://www.coker.edu/directory/glellis.html|title= George P. Lellis, Ph.D.|access-date=2012-10-03}}) honoured "Ulzhan" by publishing an in-depth review of 3582 words titled "Ulzhan: Schlöndorff’s Globalized Eastern Western".{{Cite news|url=http://www.offscreen.com/index.php/pages/essays/ulzhan/|title= Ulzhan: Schlöndorff's Globalized Eastern Western |access-date=2008-05-12}} Their essay attests Volker Schlöndorff to have made "abstract issues" seizable "through transposing the conventions of the Western into the frontier between Europe and Asia –physically, intellectually, and spiritually". They also certified "Ulzhan" a "special complexity" achieved by "its refusal to let its themes be reduced to a simple bipolar opposition". Variety's very different review just compared "Ulzhan" with another film and came finally to a mathematical result which stated that 1 reel of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre delivered more clashes and oral exposition than the 10 reels of "Ulzhan".{{Cite news|url= https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933730?refcatid=31 |title= there's more drama, character conflict and human commentary in one reel of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" than all 10 of "Ulzhan." |access-date=2007-05-22 |location=Cannes |work=Variety |first=Derek|last=Elley}} ABC's Julie Rigg compared "Ulzhan" instead with Paris, Texas and found it "haunting" but at the same time "mysterious and beautiful".{{Cite news|url= http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/movietime/interview-with-philippe-torreton-actor-ulzhan/3168610|title=Ulzhan, a mysterious and beautiful film... It's a haunting film, a kind of Paris, Texas on the Steppes|access-date=2009-02-20}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.offscreen.com/index.php/pages/essays/ulzhan/ Ulzhan on www.offscreen.com]
- {{IMDb title|id=1016033}}
{{Volker Schlöndorff}}
{{Jean-Claude Carrière}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulzhan}}
Category:Kazakhstani drama films
Category:2000s adventure films
Category:Films directed by Volker Schlöndorff