The endless breadth of Kazakhstan, as far as the eye can reach and beyond. The Frenchman Charles is stranded here. A family tragedy has left him with no will to live; it is time to put an end to it all. His aim is the sacred mountain Khan Tengri, where in times past the shamans withdrew to die in peace.
Charles has travelled thousands of miles, by plane, car and, on foot, traversed a land now in a state of upheaval. One day he meets a mysterious character, a shaman called Shakuni who deals in rare, untranslatable words. By accident Charles lands in a village where he meets the nomad girl Ulzhan and buys a horse from her to continue his journey. Against his will the young woman follows him through the desolate Steppes all the way to the sacred mountain on the border to China.
Dir. Volker Schlöndorff - 2007 – Germany - 105 mins - Cert 15 - Rezo Film
