This movie is about the young boy, Aslan (Timur Aidarbekov), who lives in a small rural town in Kazakhstan, being raised by his grandmother, with no siblings or parents around. When Aslan goes to school, he is constantly bullied by the school's worst thug, Bolat (Aslan Anarbayev), who also racketeers money and valuable items to gangsters on the school property.
Bolat has a grudge against Aslan for some reason, and tricks him into drinking a glass of penis-dipped water, which makes Aslan the laughing-stock of all the other kids in the school. Bolat even threatens the other kids with severe beatings, so they won't befriend or even talk to Aslan, as Bolat just hates him so much.
But one day, a new boy arrives in class, Mirsain (Mukhtar Andassov), who comes from the big city. He quickly befriends Aslan, and won't stand for Bolat's threats, even though he regularly beats both of them up, with the help of his loyal goons. Now, I won't spoil what happens next, but it's suffice to say, that none of the three boys' lives will ever be the same again, when Bolat is suddenly alone, and confronted after school.
The movie also shows how cynical and incompetent the police-force are, after handling the case with the three boys. Hopefully this is not the case in real life as well, but I'm afraid that many countries still accept confessions made under torture, and this movie shows one of the reasons why that is unacceptable.
The director, Emir Baigazin, apparently makes his debut with this film, which just makes it even more impressive. The acting from the kids is pretty good, and many of the images are visually striking throughout the film. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long career for all of those involved.
This movie is also very good for educational purposes, to show the ill effects of crime and bullying in school, as well as generally portraying life in rural areas of Kazakhstan.
