The Wounded Angel Film Difficulty Ranking: 3
You may have seen films from China and Europe, and even the Middle East, but have you seen a film from Kazakhstan? Here’s your chance to see something new. This is an excellent portrayal of Kazakhstan in the mid-90s. A country experiencing an economic and emotional depression after the split of the Soviet Union. Find out what life was like growing up in a remote town in Kazakhstan.
Why Watch The Wounded Angel?
- To see a film from Kazakhstan!
- Experience life in mid-90s Kazakhstan after the collapse of the U.S.S.R.
- You like coming-of-age stories
- See Kazakh singing in traditional dress and a currency with 3 Tenge notes
The Breakdown
“After the collapse of the USSR, in an effort to preserve the economy, the government cut off electric power every evening”
The film starts with 13 year old Zharas, a young boy living in a remote town in Kazakhstan. He pokes a hole in the top of an egg shell and drinks its contents raw while standing topless in a bare room. He starts shadow boxing before sitting down to make a knuckleduster out of molten metal and a simple mould. Next, he hops onto a train and smokes a cigarette by the door as the train moves through barren landscape.
The Wounded Angel, looks at four 13 year old Kazakh boys living in the same Kazakh town in the middle of a barren landscape. There is an emotional depression. None of the adults ever smile, grimace, or frown. Their permanently expressionless faces have rubbed off on their children who have grown up without emotion. As a result, without emotion, their childhood cannot exist, and they ae forced to become adults.
The fixed camera shots do not hint any change either. The lack of camera movement conveys stillness, therefore mirroring the lack of progress on film (the electricity cuts out, there is no employment, and no emotion).
Look out for the ‘through-the-window-frame’ (or keyhole) shots that appear in each of the four stories. Each one (apart from Toads) shows the character standing within a derelict house by an empty window frame. Each window is a window showing their fate:
- Zharas: his father walks away, but he runs after him after finishing his cigarette
- Chick: shows his friends beating up the two kids he didn’t want to fight
- Toad: he climbs through a hole in the wall and meets a group of kids
- Aslan: shows a half dead tree
Conclusion
The Wounded Angel is a fantastic depiction of a country in an emotional depression. This is a realist coming-of-age story that contrasts heavily with the nostalgic coming-of-age films that you are used to. Watch this if you are interested in watching something from the great Eurasian Steppe.
