Student (Darezhan Omirbayev, 2012): Kazakhstan

Reviewed by Sasha Miljkovic. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival 2013.

Student (Darezhan Omirbayev) is a film that takes place in Kazakstan. The story is about a lost Philosophy student (Nurlan Bajtasov). Student’s teacher explains to the class the idea of survival of the fittest. One of his friends is brutally beaten up by a guard for a rich bankers daughter, for he accidentally spilled hot coffee on her. Student then start to realize that he not doing anything is the opposite of what he was doing. Rather than just standing around and writing about it, Student decides to do something about it. Student is extremely low on cash; his family is also very poor and cannot send him money anymore. Work is not an option for he is a full time student. Student decides to rob a liquor store at gunpoint, not just for the money, but to also prove this whole only the strongest survive theory to himself. Student’s intentions weren’t evil, but his nervousness overcame his drive and he kills the clerk and the only witness. Student finds himself in worse shape then he was as he now killed two people, but also gave the money away to a family he met recently that probably needed it more then him.

This film is dark. Long camera shots, like awkwardly long, give it suspense. When the bankers daughter has coffee spilled on her, you’d think the boy would come out and apologize to her, she even looks back at him with regret, maybe she likes him a little. But then, a black van shows up full of bodyguards and the boy is taken into a room and beaten mercilessly. The film structure loosely reminds me of When a Stranger Calls, just because so much more often then you’d think, something normal but out of the ordinary would happen, and you’d think something bad or good would happen, but it turns out to just be a fridge opening or a girl walking by. But sometimes it pops out you. When you least expect it.

Student was awesome. But at some point I thought the plot was a little extreme.