AllMovie

A child struggles to make sense of his parents' bitterness towards one another in this low-key drama from writer and director Daniyar Salamat. Baisal (Nurmakhambet Aitenov) is an eight-year-old boy living in Kazakhstan with his father Karim (Bakhytzhan Alpeisov). Baisal's parents are divorced, and though his father doesn't have much money and they lead a Spartan existence, Karim clearly loves and understands his son, and Baisal enjoys the time he spends with his dad. It's when his mother enters the picture that things get unpleasant; Karim and his ex-wife do not get along, and Baisal is troubled by their long and rancorous arguments. Even worse, Baisal's mother has remarried, and his new stepfather is an abusive alcoholic who humiliates the boy when he visits his mom. Akem Ekeuiimyz (aka Together With My Father) was an official selection at the 2009 Rotterdam International Film Festival.