Centaur (2017)

Directed by: Aktan Arym Kubat | 89 minutes | drama | Actors: Aktan Arym Kubat, Nuraly Tursunkoyev, Zarema Asanalieva, Taalaikan Abazova, Ilim Kalmuratov, Bolot Tentimyshov, Maksat Mamyrkanov

With ‘Centaur’ the Kyrgyz director Aktan Arym Kubat is building on his earlier oeuvre. After the heartwarming ‘The Light Thief’ (‘Svet-Ake’), which was shown in Dutch cinemas in 2011, and in which the filmmaker himself also played the leading role, he is once again the center of attention in ‘Centaur’. The filmmaker plays the title role. Centaur (a nickname) is a former movie operator. The cinema in the village has given way to a mosque and now it lives a simple life in the mountainous area outside the capital Bishkek. He lives with his deaf-mute wife and his adoring son, who hasn’t spoken a word in his young life. He does some odd jobs as a construction worker, visits a market vendor every day, with whom he has a friendly chat and thus feeds the gossip needs of the other villagers.

From a deep-seated belief in a myth, Centaur is convinced that the Kyrgyz have a special bond with horses and that they should be able to walk freely on the steppes. The recent development that horses in Kyrgyzstan are being used to earn money is troubling him. That’s why he secretly frees these horses at night, rides them and then lets them go (so that the owner can find them again). It is his way of rebelling against the growing prosperity in his habitat, a valiant attempt to cling to the past and “give people back their wings”.

Of course that clashes. However, Kubat succeeds in giving a nuanced picture of both parties in ‘Centaur’. It’s not all black and white; characters are not merely good or bad. The robbed horse owner tries to see the best in Centaur and holds a hand over his head. Also Centaur himself is not a hero who rises above all else. He also has his faults.

With ‘Centaur’ Kubat does address many themes. The position of women in the Kyrgyz community is touched upon, the rise of Islam and what that means, tradition versus progress, it all comes across. The disadvantage of so many plot lines is that it is often not clear which way Kubat actually wants to go with ‘Centaur’. There are moments of pure beauty as well as emotional passages, such as the woman, who is said to be Centaur’s mistress, who talks about her husband who died decades ago and the funny, endearing ritual Centaur has with his wife and child to each other. to show love. Or the scene in which Centaur picks up his old profession for a while. But sometimes it also irritates that the story goes in all directions or drags on. And the symbolism is sometimes a bit over the top. Not as good as ‘The Light Thief’, but ‘Centaur’ is a charming, sympathetic film that introduces you to a culture that not many people know about.