The Land of the Fathers

A Kazakh man and his grandson travel by train through Russia to retrieve the body of the man’s son, who died as soldier in World War II. Their encounters with other travelers, and especially their discovery of the son’s grave, awaken questions of culture and home. Produced under Soviet rule, the moving film nonetheless affirmed Kazakh identity, and confirmed director Shaken Aimanov as a founding figure of Kazakh cinema. —UCLA Film & Television Archive