Wonderful Little Kyrgyz Movie Worth Seeing
Aktan Arym Kubat directed, cowrote, and stars in this Kyrgyzstan movie about failed economic policy (Soviet and post-Soviet) and the dying Kyrgyz culture. Kubat becomes an electrician, Mr. Light, after losing his job. It is a crime to steal electricity (of course), but the poor Kyrgyz of the Steppes are almost lost without it - they cannot get electricity because of high unemployment. The son of a local, now a state official, wants to exploit the area's resources for the good of the Kyrgyz, but not that of the "backwards" and culturally rich Kyrgyz people of the Steppes. There is an aire of corruption. Mr. Light has a great idea to use wind at the mountains' entrance to the valley to bring electricity, but the official wants to buy the lands in the area for other reasons and displace the villagers and raze the village, even bringing Chinese investors (I believe they want to make a huge resort of the area, and the wind farm would power it).
As somebody who enjoyed a...
(3.5 STARS) A Modern-day Fable in Kyrgyzstan
Set in a modern-day Kyrgyz village in the Tien Shan Mountains, "The Light Thief" follows the story of a middle-aged electrician Svet-Ake (played by director Aktan Arym Kubat), who tampers with meters for those who cannot afford to pay for electricity. He also dreams of providing the depopulated village with electricity by setting up wind turbines. It seems this is not likely to happen, however, as Svet-Ake, father of three daughters, has just lost his job - but a politician from the city arrives, offering a deal that Svet-Ake cannot refuse.
"The Light Thief" is the first film by Aktan Arym Kubat (formerly known as Aktan Abdykalykov) in nine years after his autobiographical trilogy. His latest film is most effective when it captures the life of the villagers with a simple narrative suggesting the social and economic changes that these people are about to experience. You may see the village's beautiful landscapes, but not young men and women, who have left the village for...
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