Inner Landscapes
The Kazakh part of the Great Steppe is a region of the world dominated by emptiness and silence. For centuries, merchants, soldiers, missionaries, migrants and travellers have wandered here. In the middle of nowhere, between East and West, Europe and China, the Middle East and Russia, at the intersection of civilisations and cultures, a solitary train moves through an endless wilderness for days. Its interior is the only setting of “Inner Landscapes”.
The protagonists come from different continents: the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. The train is the meeting place of a Muslim couple from the East and a liberal couple from the West, a Russian and a Ukrainian, a believer and an atheist, a child and an elderly person. Nationalities, languages, religions and worldviews intermingle. The crowded interior brings to mind the Tower of Babel, in which the nearest and dearest try to find a common language. Yet, the beauty of diversity is interrupted by conflicts as in the outside world, which generates the greatest tension in this cramped location. An apocalyptic storm transforms the train into a dark place. Sadi, a political migrant from Iran, confronts Joshua, an American ex-soldier. Ivan, a refugee from Ukraine, meets Volokha, a Russian. Zhanana from Kazakhstan tries hard to get back love in her marriage. Harat and Kerem from Turkey emotionally recall the life they lived.
What is their salvation in moments of crisis? They struggle for love, saved by their faith, family or dreams. We immerse ourselves in their intimate stories, searching for answers. The journey becomes an unreal path through the inner world of the characters. “Why do humans exist?”, asks eight-year-old Samudra. “Maybe we are looking for an answer that can’t be found?”, wonders Karina. The protagonists share the same questions about the meaning and purpose of life. What answers will this journey give them?
The protagonists come from different continents: the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. The train is the meeting place of a Muslim couple from the East and a liberal couple from the West, a Russian and a Ukrainian, a believer and an atheist, a child and an elderly person. Nationalities, languages, religions and worldviews intermingle. The crowded interior brings to mind the Tower of Babel, in which the nearest and dearest try to find a common language. Yet, the beauty of diversity is interrupted by conflicts as in the outside world, which generates the greatest tension in this cramped location. An apocalyptic storm transforms the train into a dark place. Sadi, a political migrant from Iran, confronts Joshua, an American ex-soldier. Ivan, a refugee from Ukraine, meets Volokha, a Russian. Zhanana from Kazakhstan tries hard to get back love in her marriage. Harat and Kerem from Turkey emotionally recall the life they lived.
What is their salvation in moments of crisis? They struggle for love, saved by their faith, family or dreams. We immerse ourselves in their intimate stories, searching for answers. The journey becomes an unreal path through the inner world of the characters. “Why do humans exist?”, asks eight-year-old Samudra. “Maybe we are looking for an answer that can’t be found?”, wonders Karina. The protagonists share the same questions about the meaning and purpose of life. What answers will this journey give them?