Adilkhan Yerzhanov had his brilliant Steppenwolf at last year’s IndieLisboa and now returns with Cadet, with this film being a gesture that changes the pace from the dystopian westerns of the director’s past. Also returning is Anna Starchenko, who plays Alina, the mother of Serik, a shy boy who is bullied by his classmates and teachers in a military school where violence haunts every corridor.
Serik is the new student at the most prestigious military school in Kazakhstan, where his mother,Alina, works as a teacher. From the very beginning, it’s clear that his adjustment will be difficult: he is a shy boy, slight in build and vaguely androgynous—traits that draw mocking stares and harsh criticism in an environment defined by rigidity and discipline. The school, however, is shaken by a series of mysterious deaths, which the authorities handle with inexplicable indifference. Alina finds herself lost in the confusion stirred by these events. Suicides or homicides? Through the dark paths of masculinity construction, bullying, physical violence, and psychological terror, Adilkhan Yerzhanov also reveals other ghosts: the repressed echoes of the Soviet past. (Jéssica Pestana)
