Before he became “famous” with his rather intelligent and humorous genre approach in 2020, with “Yellow Cat” and “Ulbolsyn”, Adilkhan Yerzhanov had directed a number of other movies, with “A Dark, Dark Man” featuring the same traits, but also being darker than his latest efforts. Let us take things from the beginning though.
The introduction sets the tone of the whole movie in the most eloquent fashion. A boy has been killed in an aul (Kazakh village) and a police detective is examining the body in the most amateur way possible, behind a cornfield that seems like the perfect background for a Stephen King novel. After the “examination” is over, the policeman calls the local simpleton Pekuar, bribes him with candy to masturbate in a cup, and then proceeds on placing the semen on the dead body, framing the young man who barely understands what is going on. Back at the station, he orders his younger colleague, Bezkat, who was just torturing a confession of another man who was arrested, to kill Pekuar, make it seem like a suicide, in order to close the case. It seems that this series of actions is actually a routine in the particular precinct, but this time, the appearance of Ariana, a reporter who seems to know exactly what is happening and the level of protection her profession bestowes, does not allow them to proceed as usual. Instead, Bezkat is forced to conduct a proper research under the constant scrutiny of Ariana, in a setting, though, that also includes corrupt politicians and more policemen, gamblers, thugs and all kinds of lowlives. If that was not enough, the two end up on a “road trip” along Pekuar and a girl of similar intellect.
The most evident element here is the direct accusation Yerzhanov points towards the Kazakh system, particularly in rural areas, with the ways the police conduct their business in cooperation with politicians essentially deeming them even worse criminals than the ones they are supposed to deal with. At the same time, this comment allows for the two protagonists to stand out, through a rather thorough character analysis, as Ariana is the exact opposite of everyone around her, including the fact that she is a woman, while Bezkat is soon proven to not be completely evil and corrupt, but more someone who has forgotten his values in his effort to adapt to his current environment. His transformation, just like the pace of the movie, comes slowly, and through a number of actions that highlight that he is still a brutal man, in a way though, that makes both him as a character, and the rest of the individuals that essentially bring the change, rather captivating.
In that regard, the acting emerges as one of the best aspects of the movie, with Daniar Alshinov giving an outstanding performance, highlighting his inner struggle and the way he changes through a rather laconic but quite eloquent performance. Dinara Baktybaeva as Ariana is also excellent in the way she stands out from everyone and everything around her, with her holier-than-thou, “bitchy” attitude toning down through her treatment of kids and the two simpletons the duo carries with them. The chemistry between the two is also excellent, finding its apogee in the scene around the fire in the corn field, with theιρ opposing rapport being one of the best moments of the movie. Teoman Khos as Pekuar is also quite convincing, with the way he tries to help but messes up and his occasional cheekiness being the main source of humor in the movie, as the choking scene highlights.
Adilkhan Yerzhanov creates a rather bleak setting, where corruption and violence is found all over the place, and very little space for any kind of hope. The coloring and cinematography by Aydar Sharipov portray this environment quite clearly, with the bleak colors, the foggy sun, and the frequent lack of light being the main mediums of this approach. At the same time, the plethora of rather impressive shots in the corn fields provide a very welcome antithesis, in the most memorable visual aspect of the production. The subtle, electronic, retro score by Galymzhan Moldanazar also induces the narrative with a fitting sense of melancholy while Yerzhanov's own editing results in an ideally slow pace, which picks up, though, in the many action scenes.
Lastly, another of the great traits of the movie comes in the way Yerzhanov handles humor, which comes in the most unexpected moments, lighting the atmosphere with its deadpan, ironic style, in another factor that showcases his intelligence in both directing and script writing.
“A Dark, Dark Man” is an excellent movie, a title that shows the path genre filmmaking should take in order to evolve from its occasional dumbed-down approach, and a testament to Yerzhanov great command of the medium.
