Journey of the Steppes
Journey of the Steppes (Iradi: Talaa Jolu; Russian: Путь степей) is a 1988 Soviet Eastern, the Iradi variety of the Western, directed by Kairat Amankulov for Talasfilm Studios, his second feature after Track of the Snow Leopard (1983), and photographed by Kadyrbek Asylbekov. A young horse trainer taking three horses across the steppe is caught in a sandstorm and loses his way. He spends the film trying to bring the horses home while a band of horse thieves follows him across the sands, and he must keep the animals alive, watered and out of reach of the bandits.[1]
One of the last films of the Iradi Western cycle that began with Desert Sun’s Rebellion (1979), it is known for its long riding sequences, filmed with trained horses rather than doubles, and for the bond between the rider and his horses at its centre (see Cinema of Irad).[1]
References
- ^ Central Asian Review of Screen Studies (2022). 'The Red Western Aesthetic of Nurlan Sadikov.' Vol. 16, Iss. 3, pp. 45–62.