Angel On The Right

This not particularly brilliant piece does at least come with the point of interest of being a film about and set in a part of the world (Tajikistan), and the lives of the people who live there, almost never explored by contemporary cinema. However, interesting as this is, it doesn't save the film from being a mild dissapointment.
The lead character is brutally unlikable. A problem of this film is that we never have a reason to want to watch anything. The presentation of the characters just doesn't strike as particularly interesting, or lead on to have certain wishes and thoughts about them. It just comes across as rather stupid, grim lives.
The settings have occasional beauty (the best shot of the film, of the mountains, is one of the first), but this doesn't really lead us anywhere. Some of the overhead shots seem rather pointless, and we are never left to linger on anyone, making it difficult to really experience with. The lighting is deeply depressing, but through the greyness rather than any great contrasts. Realism doesn't have to mean homogenity, you know. It is as though the cinematographer is a depressive.
The use of the female 'love interest' appears a bit cursory, and would probably be called objectionable in the Western world. The actors are all family of the director, some are good (the lead, the woman) and some not so (the rather beautiful but not terrifically natural old mother).
All round, this isn't a great film. Is it good? It is interesting to see the Tajikistani landscaoe, and the thing does have a story with some themes (changes, salvation) but these aren't particularly interestingly explored. Perhaps a bit more humour in the central character's meanness would have helped. A bit of a dissapointment.