The Recruiter

The minimalist approach to The Recruiter film was refreshing, especially after viewing the Hollywood-esque Tycoon. i really liked the long scenes of suburban Kazakhstan, with its ramshackle housing and industrial wastelands. Some of my favorite scenes took place near these shelters: where Mustafa tries on Sakura's sunglasses and smokes a cigarette while Sakura is sleeping beneath a large tiger wall hanging and when Mustafa and Zinka are dancing under the outdoor roof of rags. The Mustafa's emulation of Sakura is obvious in the aforementioned scene yet it was the tiger wall hanging that I found intriguing. I found the following description of tiger symbolism here: the symbol of a tiger and a mirror together refers to the medieval belief that after capturing a tiger cub, one could escape by from its pursuing mother by throwing down a mirror in her path. She would believe the reflection to be her cub and try to rescue it, thus giving the hunter time to escape." This is interesting as the scene is filmed through a mirror, with Mustafa admiring his reflection as well as keeping an eye on the sleeping Sakura. This suggests that as Mustafa is beginning to slip deeper into a more dangerous world, his mother and his girlfriend/mother figure are unable to help him because they are absorbed in themselves.

+ Review on KinoKultura
+ BBC News Kazakhstan profile
+ Miss Kazakhstan on Borat