In an isolated village in the Kazakhstan mountains, Erken, a boy of 12, lives with his mother, a beautiful and alluring single woman. One night, when the mother is visited by a hunter, Erken steals the latters horse and his gun to hold up a shop. Sought by the police, he is found by the hunter who gives him a choice: to go to prison or to go and live with him in the mountains. Thus begins a voyage of initiation, in the course of which the hunter tries to pass on his taste for and understanding of life.
Koshoshash
The Russian Descendant of the Snow Leopard is based on a famous Kirghizian folktale. Apparently the Kirghizian folks had plenty of time to tell this story: to print a full synopsis would result in a novelette. Essentially, the story involves a proud group of highland hunters called the Snow Leopards, who in order to survive a brutal winter must request help from the Lowland people. The price for this assistance is the hand of the Snow Leopard's daughter, who is promised in marriage to a wealthy Lowland trader. During the Springtime wedding celebration, the trader becomes fascinated by a stranger who wins all the athletic contests. This "male" contestant turns out to be a woman, who has arrived to seek freedom for her imprisoned husband. The subsequent romance between the trader and the beautiful stranger results in disaster and bloodshed for both the Snow Leopards and the Lowlanders.
