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Askhat Kuchinchirekov, Samal Yeslyamova, Ondasyn Besikbasov, Tulepbergen Baisakalov, Bereke Turganbayev ... see more see more... , Mahabbat Turganbayeva , Nurzhigit Zhapabayev , Amangeldi Nurzhanbayev , Tazhyban Khalykulova , Zhappas Zhailanbeaev , Esentai Tulendiev

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 ... read more read more...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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64% liked it

2,688 ratings

Critics

96% liked it

67 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Sergei Dvortsevoy

Release Date: April 1, 2009

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DVD Release Date: September 22, 2009

Stats: 154 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (154)

  • gator681
    April 5, 2009
    gator681
    [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... read more 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]
  • lesleyanorton
    June 24, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    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 ... read moreBoney 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.

  • GabrielKnight
    July 24, 2011
    GabrielKnight
    An rare hybrid of a documentary and a scripted movie, it captures live in Kazakh "steppe" with amazing realism. Everything looks and feels truly genuine. I have no idea how the director managed to get these long unedited cuts considering the conditions. Unfortunately the story it... read moreself leaves something to be desired, there's just not enough narrative for a full feature movie.
  • muttonman21
    September 15, 2009
    muttonman21
    Never heard of this movie? Neither have I, but a friend sent an invite via text message, so down to the tiny arthouse theatre I and another friend went after Googling the film's trailer, suggesting a tale of romance. Didn't catch the first few minutes, though, so while being left... read more in the blue and waiting for the characters to find the plot again, I was more perplexed by the setting: a lonely home/tent set in the middle of nowhere with no discerning landmarks or obstacles as far as the [camera's] eye can see. Dry hot terrain overrun by goats, camels, and whatever human family was present with occasional visits from a friend, boss of the goat flock, and a vet. Looks like one of those deep rez environments, but with no annoying neighbors/relatives. Centering on a returning sailor named Asa, hot off the heels of the Russian Navy (thanks imdb for queing me in), and he goes back to his sister's residence, also occupied by her family: husband who is a herdsman, two boys, one who listens to the news radio and relays the info to his dad and the other who's just too cute, and a girl who sings her way through life.

    So what's the movie about exactly? Life on this lonely terrain? It's a pretty harsh place knowing that the wind, heat, and dust are your true friends; harsh they are, but so is life, but Asa lives in a dream as inscribed on his uniform's collar. This place seems to be his dream, yet it's so far from ever becoming a reality. The environment portrayed here looks rather forbidding, yet simultaneously seems peaceful. Perhaps Asa, having seen the world and battled octopi, is indecisive or factors doesn't pan out in his favor. Reality hits us, it is harsh, the old ways are dissolving and conflicting. Kinda odd how Asa escapes reality by diving into this barren world. I think that's how we all are. But anywho, 'tis a good movie, more documentary-like than fiction since the camera is fixated on this world and the few inhabitants. It's also very funny in some parts, which I shoulda mentioned earlier.

View All Tulpan Reviews

Critic Reviews

Tom Long
July 17, 2009
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. Full Review

Michael Phillips
June 11, 2009
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... Full Review

Roger Ebert
June 11, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Tulpan is an amazing film. It shows such an unfamiliar world, it might as well be Mars. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
May 29, 2009
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. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
May 22, 2009
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

This uncategorizable story, both ancient and modern, is, simply and poetically, about a nomad looking to make his home. Full Review

Dan Kois
May 15, 2009
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. Full Review

Ty Burr
May 14, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Sergei Dvortsevoy's remarkable film is fiction, but the characters are played by people more or less playing themselves, and each actor brings a rough charisma to the film. Full Review

Tamara Straus
May 8, 2009
Tamara Straus, San Francisco Chronicle

A tender, unforgettable comedy about a vanishing way of life. Full Review

Colin Covert
May 7, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Equal parts deadpan romcom and National Geographic special, Tulpan certainly the funniest movie about Kazakh sheep herders that you will ever see. Full Review

Liam Lacey
April 10, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Russian director Sergei Dvortsevoy's funny, fascinating, utterly unclassifiable film Tulpan is ethnographic filmmaking without the preaching. Full Review

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