Much like the work of Hirokazu Koreeda Alshanova allows for a world where we can access memories in a way we have not yet learned. With an alert canniness, her characters work in a simple yet defiant way, each moving through the White Orchid Hotel like ghosts in the night.
Within each scene we see events unfolding, sometimes they feel part of the normal world, but then, something unhinges. The hotel, a limbo, allows our protagonist to exist again in the memories she has not yet let go of.
The film has daring visuals, working in monochrome, Togrul's cinematography walks on the edge of light, he tells the story through the parts of the image we cannot see. The celluloid capture of the film is very striking, and when suddenly a bottle of milk spills across the floor, it is illuminated like snow.
Within each scene we see events unfolding, sometimes they feel part of the normal world, but then, something unhinges. The hotel, a limbo, allows our protagonist to exist again in the memories she has not yet let go of.
The film has daring visuals, working in monochrome, Togrul's cinematography walks on the edge of light, he tells the story through the parts of the image we cannot see. The celluloid capture of the film is very striking, and when suddenly a bottle of milk spills across the floor, it is illuminated like snow.