AllMovie

In this intriguing drama, the disenfranchised residents of a small town in Kazakistan in 1946 form the social backdrop for a young boy's awakening to poverty and reality. Vania's father is an artist who came back from World War II with a brain injury and only one arm, both of which take their toll. A woman whom his father loves cannot adjust to a life without her husband (who left her) and succumbs to the effects of depression. Meanwhile, the townspeople have one source of enjoyment: they capture and sell pigeons in a kind of competitive one-upmanship. When Vania finds a white dove, he is especially excited; he has just beat out everyone else with this unusual specimen. But the dove is stolen and the consequences lead to some new lessons for a young boy who is already beset with problems.