Movie review: A fun ride with 'Tulpan'

Article by: COLIN COVERT , Star Tribune
Updated: May 7, 2009 - 5:29 PM

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"Tulpan"

Photo: Zeitgeist Films, Star Tribune

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Equal parts deadpan romcom and National Geographic special, "Tulpan" (★★★ out of four stars; unrated, suitable for all audiences) is certainly the funniest movie about Kazakh sheep herders that you will ever see. Asa (Askhat Kuchinchirekov, pictured), returning to the dusty steppes after a tour in the navy, is the picture of naive optimism.

Rattling along in a dune buggy/tractor to the Boney M's bouncy "Rivers of Babylon," he's about to meet Tulpan, the only marriageable girl for many kilometers. Asa looks at the desolate terrain and sees only beauty. In the same way, he imagines Tulpan's beauty, even though she hides behind a curtain while her Ma and Pa listen to Asa's farfetched tales of wrestling an octopus. Life has a few dope-slaps in store for lovable Asa, but there's a large dash of fun in his adventures, too.

At his most despondent, a goat trots over to give him a comforting kiss on the lips. Director Sergey Dvortsevoy has an astounding ability to choreograph miracles with camels, toddlers, pregnant sheep and nonprofessional actors. The long, unedited scenes unreel like improv comedy alongside awkward episodes of courtship that could come from a Central Asian "Seinfeld." (In Kazakh and Russian with English subtitles. 7:30 p.m. today-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $6-$8.612-375-7600 or walkerart.org/tickets.)