''Ulzhan'' is a 2007 international co-production directed by

Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939 Friday) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s ...

, starring

Philippe Torreton Philippe Torreton (born 13 October 1965) is a French actor. Life and career Born in Rouen, to a teacher mother, and filling station attendant father, Torreton grew up in a suburb of the city. A student at the lycée Val de Seine de Grand-Quevil ...

, Ayanat Xenbay (formerly credited as Ayana Yesmagambetova) and

David Bennent David Bennent (born 9 September 1966) is a Swiss actor. Biography He was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. His parents are German actor Heinz Bennent and French former dancer Diane Mansart. His sister Anne Bennent is also an actress. He has lived ...

Plot

The Frenchman Charles travels in Kazakhstan and when his car stops working, he is determined to continue his journey by walking until he can get a horse. The young local French teacher Ulzhan decides to accompany and support him. She learns that Charles is heading for the mountain

Khan Tengri Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mountaineering c ...

. Along the way they are joined by

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

Shakuni. They all approach the storied mountain which Shakuni considers holy. Whether they will find there a hidden treasure or salvation is left to the viewer's speculation.

Reception

In Germany "Ulzhan" received "predominantly positive press reviews". Hans-Bernhard Moeller (associate professor of Germanic Studies at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

) and George Lellis (professor of communication at

Coker College Coker University is a private university in Hartsville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1908 and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Coker's sports teams, nicknamed the Cobras, compete in NCAA Division II. Histo ...

) honoured "Ulzhan" by publishing an in-depth review of 3582 words titled "Ulzhan: Schlöndorff’s Globalized Eastern Western". Their essay attests Volker Schlöndorff to have made "abstract issues" seizable "through transposing the conventions of the Western into the frontier between Europe and Asia –physically, intellectually, and spiritually". They also certified "Ulzhan" a "special complexity" achieved by "its refusal to let its themes be reduced to a simple bipolar opposition".

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

's very different review just compared "Ulzhan" with another film and came finally to a mathematical result which stated that 1 reel of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre delivered more clashes and oral exposition than the 10 reels of "Ulzhan".

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's Julie Rigg compared "Ulzhan" instead with

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...

and found it "haunting" but at the same time "mysterious and beautiful".

References

External links

Ulzhan on www.offscreen.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulzhan 2007 films French drama films German drama films Kazakhstani drama films 2000s adventure films Films directed by Volker Schlöndorff Films with screenplays by Jean-Claude Carrière 2000s French films 2000s German films