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Movies / On DVD / Schizo
Schizo

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Schizo (2005)

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Reviews Counted:37

Fresh:29

Rotten:8

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: A stark and moving coming-of-age tale and crime thriller, Schizo gives viewers a peek into the lives of Kazakhstan's poor.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 86 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Mar 18, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: An uncommonly moving feature about characters in desperate circumstances, SCHIZO offers both a unique coming-of-age story and a sterling feature debut by director Guka Omarova. The film concerns... An uncommonly moving feature about characters in desperate circumstances, SCHIZO offers both a unique coming-of-age story and a sterling feature debut by director Guka Omarova. The film concerns Mustafa, or "Schizo," a boy not quite 15 years old, who becomes caught up in sordid adult dealings, and must struggle to maintain his sense of beauty and right as he develops the expertise and thick skin of a true player. Growing up in the destitute early ‘90s Kazakhstan, and nicknamed "Schizo" for his eccentric behavior in school (for which he also earns a drug regimen and the ominous prospect of other treatments), the young man lives an unrewarding home life in early-'90s Kazakhstan with his single mother and her boyfriend Sakura (a small-time hood.) The makeshift family is poor, and the adults pay little attention to Schizo's prospects, except that Sakura offers Schizo a role in his own income scheme: procuring other men who will agree to fight in an underground and illegal boxing syndicate. The men will vie for money and cars, but few will ever win, and some are horribly injured. Already toughened by life, Schizo takes to this work with zeal, happy to have a little spending money. But he is taken aback when one recruit – a young man named Ali – dies after his boxing match, entrusting a small amount of money to Schizo, to be delivered to Ali's girlfriend Zina. Feeling a faint sympathy for the dead Ali, Schizo finds Zina, a somewhat older woman, living in a small hovel on the outskirts of his town. Also living there is someone Ali never mentioned: his young son Sanzhik, a mere toddler who finds the new, teenage stranger intriguing. Keenly aware of Zina's wrenching poverty (as well as her debilitating limp), Schizo delivers Ali's money without initially breaking the news of his tragic death. Finally observing this last formality, he becomes a regular visitor at Zina's home. Much to their mutual surprise, the three young, wounded people take on the aspect of a family more functional than Schizo's own. Schizo and Zina undertake a physical relationship (especially tender, given his relative inexperience). Schizo also develops a special bond with young Sanzhik, gradually coming to provide the stability and warmth that his own childhood has so sorely lacked. But in his growing desire to support Zina and Sanzhik, Schizo must raise more money, and he redoubles his involvement with the illegal fighting operation, even recruiting an alcoholic uncle to undergo the punishing ordeal. When the uncle's unexpected win foils the schemes of Sakura's crooked boss, Schizo faces possible disaster – and realizes that this represents calamity to his new family as well. The decisions he makes next are both noble and wrenching. Austere direction, stark imagery and magnificent performances (especially by a remarkable Olzhas Nusuppaev in the title role) combine in a memorable portrait of a vulnerable and humane young man, blossoming in the toxic soil of a devastated country. This beautiful and moving feature, set in modern-day Kazakhstan, depicts the hard choices a young man makes when he's caught between poverty, crime and love, guided only by his wits and his better nature. -- © Picture This! Entertainment [More]

Starring: Olzhas Nusuppaev, Eduard Tabyschev, Olga Landina, Bakhytbek Baymukhanbetov

Starring: Olzhas Nusuppaev, Eduard Tabyschev, Olga Landina, Bakhytbek Baymukhanbetov, Viktor Soukhorukov, Gulnara Jeralieva, Kanagat Nurtai

Director: Guka Omarova

Director: Guka Omarova
Screenwriter: Guka Omarova, Sergei Bodrov
Producer: Sergei Selyanov, Sergei Bodrov, Sergey Azimov
Composer: SIG
Studio: Picture This! Entertainment

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Release:

Sep 13, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Schizo

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
02/20/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out New York
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

Omarova's thoughtful offering is not so much a visual triptych of the country but a human portrait of youthful purpose in the face of fisted danger.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
09/01/05
Laura Kelly
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

It takes patience to get into this movie, but it does pay off.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
08/12/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

The exotic setting and the starkness with which the young man's story is told--along with Nusuppaev's muted charisma--help it transcend the narrative commonplaces.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/30/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

An unflinching look at poverty, expedience and harsh choices in a desolate environment.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/29/05
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This Russian-made thriller is seriously lacking energy, which is surprising considering the material.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
07/29/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

First-time director Guka Omarova has a strong eye for telling detail and a sensitivity to Mustafa's slow awakening.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
07/29/05
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

A stark illustration of a cold, hard world, and a sensitive look at a kid wanting a way out.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
07/28/05
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Offers not just the proverbial window into village life in Kazakhstan, but a panoramic view.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
04/22/05
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nusuppaev simply isn't skilled enough to bring us along on Schizo's journey, and Omarova's sense of pace is uneven.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
04/08/05
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Guka Omarova's assured first feature Schizo is a noir forced out into the sunlight.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
04/08/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

An uncommonly moving feature about characters in desperate circumstances,Schizo features an incredible debut performance by its leading actor, a Kazakhstan orphan.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
04/02/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

You'd by crazy to miss this Kazakhstan import.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
04/01/05
E! Online

As admirable as some of the film might be, it's ultimately too sluggish and dreary to be very memorable.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
03/31/05
Jen Chaney
Jen Chaney
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An earnest also-ran.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
03/31/05
David Chute
David Chute
L.A. Weekly

While believable and well put-together, the story is a bit too slight to fully command our attention.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
03/30/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

The director creates a taut picture of a place, and a liberating moment of choice.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
03/30/05
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An austere, moving tale about a young man underestimated by everyone except himself.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/25/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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