Eksen, a boy about ten years with a round face and sharp eyes, is fond
of life and curious about everything. During the years following the
Second World War, he discovers the world in his small mining village
in southern Kazakhstan; it is a Soviet quite ordinary small town in a
small valley with its grocer, its theme park with funny statues, its bighearted
whore, it NKVD leader, its idiot dreaming of America, its
Sunday night dance, its inner circuit of radio broadcasting words
from the Party… and loving declarations from the head of police, and
its gang of Eksen’s friends, cheeky little rascals on the lookout for any
plot by the adults, those odd blokes taking themselves so seriously!
At the rhythm of the accordion Eksen is so fond of playing, the gang
meets and quarrels, joyfully gathers and laughs, and separates to
allow each of them dry their tears.
For this black and white film with colour sequences, a certain Rustem
Abdrashev worked as set designer.
Source : Festival international du film de Vesoul, 2012