Tulpan
Metascore
88 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    I swear to you that if you live in a place where this film is playing, it is the best film in town.
  2. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    100
    Funny, fascinating, utterly unclassifiable film.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    100
    If you see only one comic love story from Kazakhstan this year, choose this prize-winning honey.
  4. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    100
    In every respect, this unclassifiable movie is an amazing accomplishment.
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Bennett
    90
    Polished, funny and utterly charming.
  6. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    90
    What makes Tulpan remarkable are the extended unbroken scenes, both dramatic and comic.
  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    90
    Might be described as an epic landscape film, a sweetly comic coming-of-age story or a lyrical work of social realism. But the setting -- a windswept, sparely populated steppe in southern Kazakhstan -- gives the movie a mood that sometimes feels closer to that of science fiction.
  8. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    88
    The filmmaker's documentary training pays off in detail after detail.
  9. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    88
    In the tradition of ethnographic dramas from "Nanook of the North" to "The Fast Runner," Tulpan drops us in the middle of a godforsaken nowhere and marvels at the people who live there.
  10. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Stan Hall
    83
    Sergei Dvortsevoy's unclassifiable, verite-style film (shaky-cam alert!) is an endearing mix of intimacy, attention to detail and decidedly local humor.
  11. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    83
    A beautifully choreographed and photographed story about tradition and modernity in rural Asia.
  12. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    This is a difficult film to pigeonhole, an indefinable mixture of genres and attitudes that is by turns off-the-wall and serious, comic and sad.
  13. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    The acting and story are solid, but the real star of Tulpan is the gorgeous, never-ending landscape -- flat and arid, and home to camels, goats and lambs, and hearty people who live in tentlike yurts.
  14. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Tamara Straus
    75
    A tender, unforgettable comedy about a vanishing way of life.
  15. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Dan Kois
    70
    To certain serious world-cinema aficionados, though, Tulpan's combination of understated comedy and documentary-level depiction of rural Kazakh life will be catnip.
  16. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    70
    A winner of the Cannes film festival's Un Certain Regard prize, this stayed with me, though I wasn't always happy to stay with it; the incessant braying of sheep, camels, and children may send you racing from the theater in search of the nearest martini lounge.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 5 out of 13
  1. adhiban
    9
    Indeed, this movie make a unique feel due to its landscape in which the film is taken(a dusty grass less prairie). The reality in this movie does not tends to mitigate at any instance. Surely everyone has in mind at last, why the movie name TULPAN? the reason is, many became unaware of the subtle romance of this movie, the feature even no other romantic genre movies did not possess. But there is no need for the contemplative search towards the movie name, because the theme of the movie matters more than its name.… Full Review »
  2. mubagreen
    10
    " few films entertain us and few films engross us ,and this movie is full of life". this movie is a milestone in independent film making. the most beautiful thing in the movie is the way the director handles the actors ..… Full Review »
  3. johnwbyrd
    2
    The message of this movie is: "You think your life is hard, white middle-classed people from Western countries? Well in Kazakhstan we have to give birth to sheep by pulling them out ourselves. Also, there are dust storms. Also, we pop zits on our father's back. All these processes take a long time, are disgusting, and are very boring for everyone around us as well. Also there is love somewhere but really you should concentrate on the sheep."… Full Review »
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