A tragic but lyrical social drama by Kyrgyzstan’s preeminent filmmaker, Aktan ArymKubat, sees Iranian master director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s scenario transplanted to Kazakhstan. Polina is a single mother with two sons, Amir and Serikbai. Her husband, who left for Russia to find work, can’t be reached and her two sons are always getting in trouble. To make a living, Polina resorts to selling her body. But after her children discover her secret, and Amir is caught stealing their neighbor’s accordion, Polina makes a drastic choice. The director questions the standard for morality by wondering whether Polina is a fallen woman or a martyr. Young Serikbai believes that his mother went to heaven, a notion Amir doesn’t believe in at all. Though the two boys are still innocent, they have begun to realize that there is a standard morality is often held to. Perhaps human tragedy begins the moment we realize the concept of morality. (KIM Ji-seok)