CONSTRUCTORS

Two brothers and their little sister are thrown out of their flat because they haven’t paid the rent. The orphans pack up their few possessions and go out to the country, where the family owns a small plot of land. The children set up camp, knowing they have to fend for themselves. But this solution is insecure, too: they are told, in no uncertain terms, that all plots will shortly pass to the state unless at least the foundations of a house have been laid. The threesome get down to work, making night-time visits to neighbouring sites to “borrow” tools and materials, then building by day. But no sooner are the foundation walls complete than an unsympathetic policeman advises them that the law has changed. Foundations are not enough – the shell of a new building must be standing, or the land will be confiscated. The setbacks keep coming, but the plucky trio refuse to accept defeat. Delivered with sublime calm and infinitely laconic humour, Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s parable on homelessness and lawlessness also tells of the determination to overcome obstacles and fight for one’s rightful place in the world.