‘Bauryna Salu’ Review: Kazakhstan’s Oscar Entry Captures a Child’s Abandonment

variety.com:

Siddhant Adlakha “Bauryna Salu” is a rare, naturalistic gem that one can experience in two wildly different modes. The first involves going in completely cold — no pun intended — and observing the understated drama of its frigid, nomadic setting.

The second involves experiencing its intricacies through the eyes of 12-year-old protagonist Yersultan (an impeccable Yersultan Yerman), which requires little more than a glance at its synopsis, or a glimpse at the blink-and-you’ll-miss it translation of its Kazakh-language title as the movie opens.

The tradition to which “Bauryna Salu” refers, and which enhances one’s understanding of the underlying story, is only explicitly depicted near the end.

Along the way, its most visceral and intimate effects trickle out with a stunning commitment to cinematic realism. The result is a remarkable sleight of hand — a film in which every emotional possibility is broached, even when nothing seems to happen.