Angel on the Right [Import]

The blurb on the DVD case from the Village Voice states that this is a "deapan dark comedy." I wonder if the writer saw the same film that I did?

This is a simple story, stunningly photographed and beautifully acted by some wonderful actors. Just seeing a glimpse of daily life in a village in Tajikistan is a rare treat. The story involves a man who was born in this village, and has been in prison in Russia for ten years. He is not loved by the locals to whom he still owes large sums of money. His mother is presumably dying and he feels his troubles will be over when she passes on and he inherits the house. He'll sell it and his money problems will be over.

Life intervenes, however, and the mother recovers and a young boy is suddently thrust upon the man, who is said to be his father.
The story unwinds and we see the choices the man makes: will he listen to the angel on his left shoulder and continue to live a bad life, or listen to the angel on the right and straighten up?

The film is so subtle and graceful in spite of the harshness of the realities of life in this village. Each actor is perfect for the part. The main guy has the look of someone who hasn't had a happy thought for a long time; yet he is handsome in his way and manages to seduce a beautiful nurse. The nurse is incredibly beautiful and her colorful native costumes make her a sight to behold. The mother is also quite lovely, although on in years. She, too, wears costumes and fabrics that make you want to run to Tajikistan to buy some. The son is played by one of the most adorable children to appear in a film.

I highly recommend this film and hope that it finds a wider audience. I also look forward to seeing more from this talented, poetic director.

Filmed in 2002, Hamro returns to Tajikistan after serving time in a Russian prison to the poor village where he learns his mother is dying. Hamro is still a thug, hasn't changed, and the town still remembers him as owing a great amount of debt. Upon his arrival, the townsfolk scheme to collect. What Hamro learns is that he intends to inherit his dying mother's house to pay off debts, while another surprise is his son, a young boy has landed in his care. With reluctance he is forced to take responsibility for his son, whose mother died when the boy was one year.

It is Hamro's nature to be the thug he has always been and that little boy is the vehicle for some redemption. And quietly, the boy is present to the likes of his ex-prisoner father. The boy doesn't say much, it is all in his innocent little face.

Angel on the Right is the basis for an old fable where an angel is seated on one's left or right side, recording the deeds, determining if one will go to heaven or hell. Does Hamro have an angel, what side does the angel sit?

This is a movie with a moral, but I would NOT call if comedic or dark. It's simply a bittersweet film about a mother, her son, and a grandson in a poor village with cobblestone walks, hills, metal corrugated roofs with a shabby lifestyle. Be observant to the culture of Tajikistan and the people. Tajikistan is a mountainous country in Central Asia near Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Director Jamshed Usmonov other films are "Flight of the Bee" and To Get to Heaven First You Have to Die ( Bihisht faqat baroi murdagon ) ]..... Rizzo

Djamshed Usmonov's allegorical fable about love and redemption has the feel of an intimate documentary, but with the strong narrative continuity typical of modern british films such as Winterbottom's 'Everyday'. It draws much inspiration from simple Islamic concepts of morality in life, and as the lead character, Hamro, develops human warmth, so the backdrop palate of the film takes on warmer hues. The movie is shot in the director's home village, and is well acted by a non-professional cast made up Usmonov's relatives (including his parents and brother). They are worryingly believable in character. Great viewing for anyone who likes intelligent stories about family and personal responsibility.