EIFF 2013: Constructors Review

Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov.

Starring: Rauf Khabibulin, Yerbolat Yerzhanov, Aliya Zainalova.

Running Time: 67 minutes.

Synopsis: Three siblings must lay down the foundations on a plot of land before it is taken away from them.

Kicked out of their flat due to unpaid rent, two brothers and their much younger sister travel to a plot of land that will save them from becoming homeless or taken in by the authorities. Beautifully shot in crisp black and white, CONSTRUCTORS may please the eyes, but it causes great issue with the brain.

Opening to the voice of a young girl and old footage of the country’s former glory, this short, arduous Kazakhstani film’s promising start soon falls into distant memory. With the girl becoming a silent presence for the remaining running time, the opening voiceover is as exciting as things get. A film steeped in stillness, the instrumental leit motif is a welcome beacon each time it rolls around, just to escape from the deafening silence.

One big, boring game of cat and mouse, CONSTRUCTORS sees the brothers attempt to lay down the foundations on their plot in two weeks before being moved along by a government official. Spending their nights stealing tools from construction staff working elsewhere on the land around them, their attempts are elongated and laborious, with no threat felt at any point. Even when unnamed antagonists take the elder brother away, his return is given no explanation and only serves to frustrate.

Never explicitly told they are brothers (a subtitle provides the biggest insight as to their connection), it’s very hard to care for a trio we know nothing about. Bizarre, unintimidating supporting roles only add to the tedium in a film which contains little more than standing, staring and waiting.