NYFF: Chouga

From Kazahkstan, an austere adaptation of Anna Karenina that stays true to the plot but jettisons all of the passion. Hearts are broken, women are adored and abandoned, suicides attempted and executed, but for a story in which love motivates everything, director Darezhan Omirbaev casts an oddly cold and distant eye.

Yet somehow, Chouga manages to stay intriguing, in part because of unique choices -- a sudden pan to the window sill, undue attention paid to a son's video game and the falling snow -- and a luminous lead performance by Ainur Turgambaeva. [Jürgen] ***

More at The Auteurs' Notebook. Chouga screens on Saturday, October 11 at the 46th New York Film Festival.