Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project

Directed by Ermek Shinarbaev • 1989 • Kazakhstan
Starring Aleksandr Pan, Valentina Tyo, Kasym Zhakibayev

A child is raised in Korea to avenge the death of his father’s first child in this decades-spanning tale of obsession and violence, the third collaboration between director Ermek Shinarbaev and writer Anatoli Kim. A study of everyday evil infused with philosophy and poetry, this haunting allegory was the first Soviet film to look at the Korean diaspora in central Asia, and a founding work of the Kazakh New Wave. Rigorous and complex, REVENGE weaves luminous imagery with inventive narrative elements in an unforgettable meditation on the way trauma is passed down through generations.

Restored in 2010 by the Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the Kazakhfilm Studio, the State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Ermek Shinarbaev. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways, and Qatar Museum Authority.