If you still conjure visions of Borat when you hear Kazakhstan. Director Adilkhan Yerzhanov is here to make sure you take that film out of your goddamn mind, when pondering the cinematic legacy of his country. Steppenwolf, his latest screening at Fantasia, is named for the Norse god who was the son of Loki – the god of trickery, and Angrboda – the giantess mother of monsters. That alone speaks volumes about not only our story, but our severely damaged protagonist Brajyuk (Berik Aitzhanov, GOLIATH, THE ASSAULT) who this title refers to.
The film transpires during a few days during a violent uprising, which delivers the lawless catalyst needed to birth such a story that is equal parts Mad Max and The Searchers.The film begins with a strange woman, Tamara (Anna Starchenko, NARTAI) who due to some trauma can only mutter a few words at a time, she’s roaming this tumultuous wasteland looking for her son Timka, who’s gone missing. She happens upon a police station on her search currently in the midst of a bloody siege where she saves Brajyuk, a cop who was locked in an interrogation room when the violence began. Once a razor sharp detective of dubious repute, thanks to his own traumatic past he’s been reduced to the most animalistic of instincts, unleashed on prisoners as a torturous interrogator.
The pair strike an unlikely bargain, his life to help her find her son.
Steppenwolf is a nihilistic apocalyptic road movie which brought to mind early aughts Takashi Miike. This is not only thanks to its larger than life, over the top characters, and mind numbing violence, but its ability to infuse the film with some hefty emotional stakes to boot. Brajyuk, is a terrible creature who kills and maims almost indiscriminately, except for Tamara. But once we discover the inciting incident that broke him, we’re instantly vested in the pair and their journey. Tamara is portrayed as a near divine presence here, bullets never hit her and guns often jam when pointed in her direction. This dynamic helps to add an otherworldly flavor to their journey as their past and futures intersect when we finally discover who has Tamara’s son.
Set against an ethereal barren landscape, Steppenwolf is a bleak visceral transgressive vision to behold. While the dialog is sparse, volumes are communicated thanks to some truly boundless performances, captured flawlessly thanks to cinematographer Yerkіnbek Ptyraliyev who does so much with so little. This coupled with a bare bones and equally effective score by Galymzhan Moldanazar helps to present a gorgeously nihilistic vision of a country in turmoil that calls back to early George Miller. Steppenwolf is an unrelenting decent into hoplessness, that still somehow manages to find hope in the chaos.
