Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe

A state-sponsored epic made to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s secession from the crumbling Soviet Union, Myn Bala now ranks second only to Avatar in local box-office receipts. Fast-moving and visually ravishing, it was made by seasoned action director Akan Satayev on a reported budget of around $12 million – huge by Kazakh standards –with production values to match. All the same, such a parochial story will be a tough sell to foreign distributors and audiences. Even if it grabs an Oscar nomination, some smart marketing along the lines of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be required to generate serious interest abroad

Chosen from over 20,000 contenders, screen novice Asylkhan Tolepov plays Sartay, a teenage freedom fighter whose name is legend in Kazakhstan. A delicate beauty with male-model looks, Tolepov makes an unlikely guerrilla leader, but an engaging and dynamic lead. Other juvenile roles are filled by his fellow students from the Almaty theatre school, who hold their own against an older cast of mostly professional actors.

The movie’s chief flaw is its thuddingly simplistic fairy-tale script, which makes the average Bollywood melodrama seem understated by comparison. All the Kazakh fighters are noble young heroes forever proclaiming their readiness to die for the honor of their homeland and their womenfolk. Conversely, the Dzungars are uniformly ugly, black-clad, bestial conquerors with no qualms about killing children or torching entire villages. No prizes for subtlety, or historical accuracy, or nuanced depiction of geopolitical conflict. Then again, such trivial concerns did not trouble Braveheart either

To their credit, Satayev and his team do their best to give this local story a universal resonance. Switch the costumes and their stirring portrait of a raggle-taggle bandit army rising up against brutal imperial oppressors could equally apply to Robin Hood, the French Resistance, or even Star Wars. There are certainly echoes of Luke Skywalker in Sartay’s childhood back story. Most of all, Satayev’s period blockbuster impresses with its widescreen landscapes and epic combat scenes. Staged by a team that includes veterans of 300 and the Russian action smash Daywatch, the battles are bloody and gripping affairs featuring some spectacular showpiece stunts, one involving a burning horse. Sumptuously shot by Khasan Kydyraliyev, and color-graded in the rich candy hues of vintage postcards, the snowy peaks and lush valleys of the Kazakh steppe appear to contain scenery that rivals the Rockies and the Grand Canyon. If nothing else, Myn Bala should boost tourism to Kazakhstan. Who knows? It may even repair some of the damage caused by Borat