Cinema
White, White Storks
Laylak keldi, yoz boʻldi
Ali Khamraev · 1966
Synopsis
Qayum has refused the wife his parents had chosen for him and left his family. In the small Uzbek village where he settles, he meets Malika, also married by the will of the families, to a man who mistreats her, and who stands up against custom. He supports her, they grow attached to each other, and the whole village sits in judgement on them: their bond challenges the old rules of marriage.
Context
The title says the stork has arrived and summer has come: it is a seasonal formula and not the name of a bird. The author's second feature film, it is in black and white, from a screenplay written with Odelsha Agishev. It opens on real newspaper headlines, and inhabitants of the village where it was shot appear in the credits; critics see in it the example of Ozu and Italian neorealism. Sairam Isaeva plays Malika, Bolot Beyshenaliev plays Qayum. On its release, a Moscow journal hailed it as the cinema of today.
Who it is for
In Uzbek, with no French version. It is worth knowing that the arranged marriage, which the film targets, was then still a sensitive subject in the country.
Prizes and reception
Poorly received in its home country, where according to its director it never had a theatrical release, it was shown at the Pesaro festival in 2023.