Askhat Kuchinchirekov’s Bauryna Salu (translated as Adoption According to Tradition) is a deeply human exploration of belonging, obligation, and the emotional cost of inherited customs. Rooted in Kazakh rural life, the film takes its title from an ancient tradition in which a child is adopted by their grandparents — a practice meant to preserve lineage and ensure care within the extended family. But what happens when this ritual, born of love, begins to fracture the child’s sense of identity?
| Movie Details | Bauryna Salu |
|---|---|
| Country | Kazakhstan |
| Year | 2022 |
| Genre | Drama / Coming-of-age |
| Runtime | 112 min |
| Director | Askhat Kuchinchirekov |
| Main Actors | Alisher Ismailov, Azamat Nigmanov, Balzhan Taizhanova, Erbulat Toguzakov |
Kuchinchirekov approaches the story with patience and poetic restraint. The landscape — vast steppes, open skies, distant herds — becomes a silent witness to the emotional distances between people. The film centers on a young boy torn between two households, two mothers, and two versions of himself. His childhood unfolds in quiet confusion: the adults act according to custom, yet no one quite sees the slow ache that tradition leaves in its wake.
The director avoids melodrama, choosing instead the language of observation — long takes, lingering silences, and muted gestures that speak volumes. In these moments, Bauryna Salu captures a truth that transcends geography: that family, however well-intentioned, can wound as much as it protects.
The performances are understated but powerful. Alisher Ismailov as the boy conveys a deep vulnerability without a single unnecessary word, while the adults embody a moral ambiguity that feels heartbreakingly real. Kuchinchirekov’s camera does not judge; it listens. It lets the viewer feel the tenderness and pain coexisting in each frame.
Visually, the film blends realism with a touch of lyricism — light filtering through the dust, the sound of wind on the plains, the rhythm of daily chores. There’s an almost ethnographic attention to rural life, yet it’s never purely anthropological; every detail is infused with emotion, every tradition shown as both anchor and burden.
Premiering at Locarno Film Festival 2022, Bauryna Salu was praised for its quiet intensity and received the Special Jury Mention, establishing Kuchinchirekov as one of the most promising voices in Central Asian cinema. His work continues the lineage of filmmakers like Sergey Dvortsevoy, merging documentary sensitivity with cinematic poetry.
Ultimately, Bauryna Salu is not a critique of tradition but a meditation on its human cost — how the rituals meant to preserve love can sometimes erode it, and how identity is shaped by both what we inherit and what we must let go. It’s a tender, unhurried film that invites contemplation rather than conclusion, reminding us that belonging is never simple, and that even within the beauty of continuity, there lies the ache of loss.
