A Red Army commander kills his own commissar — but who really betrayed whom?
The Civil War in Central Asia. One of the Red Army detachments is surrounded by bandits. After breaking out of the ambush, its commander, Asad, accuses the political commissar of treason and kills him. The slain man’s son tries to prove his father’s innocence. Meanwhile, Commander Asad enters into a conspiracy with the Basmachi rebels…
Cinematography
Harsh Central Asian landscapes that dwarf human schemes.
Direction
Sabirov builds dread through silence and sun-bleached emptiness.
Acting
Khabibullo Abdurazakov's haunted commander steals every scene.
Director
Takhir Sabirov
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot during the Thaw era, this Uzbek-produced film critiques Stalinist purges through Civil War allegory — remarkably bold for 1967 Soviet cinema.
The Basmachi movement depicted here was still taboo in USSR historiography; Sabirov got away with nuanced portrayal by framing them through official 'bandit' lens while undermining it.
SU
