Mountain Onion, directed by Eldar Shibanov, takes viewers on a whimsical journey through Kazakhstan’s steppe. Along the way, it uses quirky cinematography and characters to explore themes of family, gender, and Kazakh-China relations.
First released in 2022 at Venice Horizons, the film follows Jabai, an 11-year-old boy who idolizes his father Aybeck. Together with his independent-spirited sister, Sania, Jabai sells green onions along the roads between Almaty and the Chinese border. However, not all is well with their family. Their father Aybeck dreams of building a new house on the steppe, but struggles to make it a reality. Dissatisfied by Aybeck’s failures and apparent lack of manliness, their mother Lasta wants a divorce, and starts an affair with a local truck driver. When Jabai hears about a mysterious drug called “Golden Viagra” that can supposedly make men strong again, he and Sania embark on a journey to find it—thinking it will help their father, and keep their family together.
The cinematography in Mountain Onion makes effective use of the Kazakh steppe as a backdrop for the characters’ struggles and aspirations. Soft greens, browns, and blues of the steppe contrast with costume and prop design to create a quirky charm. Lasta’s brightly colored jumpsuits and the family’s rickety three-wheeled cargo motorcycle, always loaded with a hodgepodge of large plastic water jugs and brightly colored canvas bags, are some visual highlights. In this regard, Mountain Onion’s cinematography vaguely evokes Wes Anderson, though it is not necessarily groundbreaking.
Given its musings about “Golden Viagra” and manliness, Mountain Onion weaves gender politics into its narrative. Aybeck tries and fails at modeling masculinity to Jabai, for instance telling Jabai that “men don’t cry” yet still crying himself. Sania assumes a tomboyish air, complaining when Jabai and his male friends don’t treat her like a “bro”. There’s also the brief appearance of two bikers who campaign against domestic violence. Such glimpses vaguely question gender norms, but neither preach to the viewer nor provoke deeper thought.
What’s more unique about Mountain Onion is its depiction of China. The film presents China as a mythical land of commerce, where Jabai and Sania must go to obtain “Golden Viagra”. This vision of China relies on caricatures. The film’s minor Chinese characters—construction workers, an onion-stealing woman, a creepy old couple—sport coolie hats, traditional Chinese clothing, and exaggerated martial arts skills. All these “Chinese” characters are played by Kazakh actors, and none of them speak Mandarin (or any form of intelligibly Chinese dialect, for that matter). If Mountain Onion were a Hollywood blockbuster, social justice activists would likely decry these depictions as racist. Alas, it is not—and it’s more productive and interesting to juxtapose such stereotypes with the wariness some Kazakhs feel towards China’s growing economic influence in their country.
Chinese caricatures aside, Mountain Onion seems to follow in the footsteps of other idiosyncratic Kazakh indie films that have circulated among international festivals. It aptly utilizes steppe scenery, and incorporates themes that might pique Western audiences’ interest— but doesn’t otherwise evoke deep reflection. Non-Kazakh viewers looking for a low-commitment offbeat family tale from a lesser-screened part of the world may still find Mountain Onion worth consideration though.
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Mountain Onion (Kazakh: Gornyi Luk)—Kazakhstan. Dialog in Russian, Kazakh. Directed by Eldar Shibanov. First released 3 September, 2022. Running time 1h 30m. Starring Esil Amantay, Amina Gaziyeva, Zhazira Kaskey, Kuantay Abdimadi, Laura Tursunkanova.
This article is part of Cinema Escapist‘s dedicated coverage of the 2023 New York Asian Film Festival.