AllMovie

The three characters of this Kazakh allegorical tragedy are mythic embodiments of the subconscious images of good and evil. The story begins when a forceful hunter from the mountains kidnaps a pretty girl from a nearby valley and takes her to be his wife. His overbearing mother becomes quite jealous as she secretly watches the couple make love. Time passes and the young woman becomes pregnant. The mother remains jealous and one day, while her son is off hunting, the girl falls into a snowy hole. The mother refuses to help her, and the girl loses her baby. The wife becomes despondent. Eventually, she takes revenge on the mother. The mother dies and her grieving husband blames the wife; he gets his revenge by brutally raping and beating her.