This
is the first movie musical to be produced by the nation of Kyrgyzstan, but it as
archetypal as films get. There are two brothers, one of whom will make a
prodigal return. Of course, there are also musical numbers and some striking mountainous
vistas in Aibek Daiyrbekov’s The Song of the
Tree, which screens during the 2019 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.
Esen
is rash and a bit undisciplined, but he is not a bad lad. Unfortunately,
Bazarbai, the clan headman, is dead-set against Esen’s romance with his
daughter Begimai, even though they are very much in love. Instead, the shallow headman
has been deceived into favoring the loutish Oguz, who has often bested Esen
through cheating. It gets to be more than the hot-headed brother can stomach,
so he tries to elope with Begimai. Unfortunately, Oguz and his lackeys track
them down, bringing her back to her father and leaving Esen for dead—but not
dead enough.
Alas,
Bazarbai’s pride will definitely goeth before his fall. It will be hastened by
the desecration of a sacred prayer tree. Initially, Ogun frames Esen’s brother
Asan for its destruction and subsequently murders him to cover up his misdeeds.
Yet, their livestock continues to die, so the clan banishes Bazarbai and his
immediate family. Meanwhile, Esen learns how to fight and control his temper
from a wandering warrior.
Like
most movie musicals, the course of true love never runs smooth in Song of the Tree, but eventually fate
will intervene. Esen will face up to his love and his rival—and sing a few
songs. Even though there is a samey consistency of tone throughout the Song of the Tree songbook, these tunes
are way more polished than most viewers might expect. Frankly, this film works
just as well as a big screen book musical as did The Last Five Years or LesMiserables.
Although
Esen is supposed to be our rooting interest, Omurbek Izrailov is upstaged and
then blown off the boards by the more intriguing character of Bazarbai and
Temirlan Smanbekov’s richer, more complex performance. Zholdoshbek Apasov’s
music and Baktygal Choturova’s lyrics definitely exceed expectations. It all
sounds quite expansive and heartfelt. Yet, it is cinematographer Akzhol Bkbolotov
who really gets to put his stamp on the film, thanks to its wildly cinematic
locations and backdrops. It looks and sounds terrific, so we can easily forgive
its narrative predictability.
There
probably hasn’t been this much singing around horses since the heyday of Gene
Autrey and Roy Rogers. It also must have the record all to itself for musical
numbers staged in yurts. Yet, it is all pretty universal and largely quite
compelling. Recommended for fans of folkloric cinema and nontraditional
musicals, The Song of the Tree screens
this Sunday (4/7), Monday (4/15), and Tuesday (4/16), as part of this year’s
MSPIFF.
