Critics reviews

The most striking of [Berlinale's films from the former Soviet bloc], in my view, was the 28 year-old Kazakh Emir Baigazin's Uroki Garmonii (Harmony Lessons), a haunting tale of an adolescent boy raised by his rustic grandmother, who, when not tasked with gutting sheep on the farm (a confrontational opening shot), is routinely bullied at school.

...It is entirely unique, employing a remarkably subtle use of surrealism and allegory to delve deeply into the deteriorating psyche of its protagonist. Surprisingly—and refreshingly—the result is not unremittingly bleak, and the comical flourishes, rather than clash with the somber subject matter, only serve to enrich it.

As the title suggests, Harmony Lessons is less a straightforward narrative than a series of illustrative moments about the Darwinian horrors of adolescence, where the strong eat the weak and the weak must adapt -- sometimes violently -- to survive. It's a spellbinding work that manages to include extended digressions on the laws of physics, Islam and Gandhism in its perverse, profound brew.