STARS OF THE STEPPE

THE FILMS

Qijan / THE LAST STOP
USSR (Kazakhstan) 1989
Direction: Serik Aprymov. Screenplay: Serik Aprymov. Cinematography: Mourat Nougmanov. Editing: Dina Bersugurova. Sound: Shanybek Muchamadshanov. Sets: Sabit Kurmanbekov. Cast: Sabit Kurmanbekov, Murat Achmetov, Bachytshan Alpeisov, Nagimbek Samajev. Production: Kazakhfilm Studios. 35mm Color 78min

The film dates from the late eighties, when the Soviet Union had already begun to fall apart. Erken returns after two years of military service to his home village, where mindlessness, decay, and shameless cynicism dominate human relationships. He meets his friends from his youth, who no longer have any ideals and for whom life is made up of lies. Even when they are in the same space, they reach each other by phone. They understand, consciously or unconsciously, their own helplessness in the face of society and try almost desperately to distance themselves from it. Erken decides to leave the steppe forever.