Uzbekistan in the 1920s: Bolshevik commander Maksumov returns to the Uchkurgan settlement after spending a few days in the regional capital. He finds the place devastated and depopulated. His opponent, Hayrullah, a leader of the anti-Soviet bandits known as basmachi, has not only defeated the Red Army troops but also convinced more than a hundred of them to switch sides. Maksumov decides to go to the lion’s den on his own in order to confront the enemy. The film, as with many other Red Westerns, uses the exotic nature of Central Asia to impressive visual effect. The chase and fight scenes are staged in a professional manner. Interestingly, both the habits and rituals of the native population are depicted with similar degrees of authenticity and respect. –Göteborg International Film Festival
Ali Irgashaliyevich Khamraev (Russian: Али Иргашалиевич (Эргашевич) Хамраев; born Tashkent, 19 May 1937) is an Uzbek director who is best known in the former Soviet Union for his work in the 1970s.
Ali Khamrayev is a film director from the same generation with Andrey Tarkovsky, Sergey Paradzhanov, Otar Ioseliani. They all are prominent artists of the Soviet cinema of the so-called warming period [of the 1960s, known for liberal governmental policies that resulted in a spurt in the arts]. This generation manifested the values of the intellectual auteur cinema. Today, Ali Khamrayev continues to work in the area of grand concepts and universal values.
Ali Khamrayev was born May 19th of 1937. In 1961, he graduated from VGIK, the workshop of Gregory Roshal. In 1969, he was honored for outstanding achievements in the arts by the government of Uzbekistan. Ali Khamrayev’s film The Seventh Bullet was seen by 22.5 million viewers – an unheard of audience for Central Asian movies… read more