Fifty-Fifty

A stunning drama from that remote former Soviet republic.

Schizo offers not just the proverbial window into village life in Kazakhstan, but a panoramic view.

True to its title, Schizo is both gripped by the past and pulled toward an unknown future.

It's a gripping, understated thriller with a solid emotional undercurrent that builds to an unexpectedly moving denouement.

If one discounts the facile and unconvincing ending, this first feature by Guka Omarova, offers a convincingly bleak view of how a 15-year-old boy could get ahead in rural Kazakhstan in the early 90s.

Schizo is an earnest also-ran, sadly muffled by the opaque performance of non-actor Oldzhas Nusupbayev.

A compelling screenplay, to be certain. But sadly, Omarova's direction is too leisurely to wring any emotional power.