Rajchan
About Rajchan
In the Bala-Shakpak mountains the bai Zhaksen takes Raihan, a poor widow's daughter, as payment on a debt. She runs on the wedding day, and the Russian communist Andrei sends her to the city to study. Years later she returns to the aul as a zootechnician and talks the herdsmen into a new way of raising young horses. Zhaksen, escaped from prison, burns the mountain pasture to scatter the collective's horses. He is about to kill Raihan when the herdsmen reach her.
Cast & crew
More about Rajchan
Moisey Levin and Sergey Bartenev directed. Mukhtar Auezov wrote the screenplay, Khecho Nazaryants photographed it, Vasily Velikanov composed the score, and Levin also designed the production. Lenfilm is the company of record. The dialogue is in Russian.
Themes
Background
Auezov, the major Kazakh writer of the period, wrote this 1940 Soviet drama about a woman leaving a debt marriage for training in the city.
Making
Qazaq Culture's synopsis frames the story as the Soviet claim that feudal bais still held remote Kazakh districts after 1917. The plot turns on horse-raising methods as much as on the wedding.
Look
Khecho Nazaryants shot the film.
Music
Vasily Velikanov composed the score.
Notes
- Khadisha Bukeyeva plays Raihan. Yeleubai Umurzakov plays the bai Zhaksen. Konstantin Nassonov plays Andrei.
- Shaken Aimanov plays Sarsen. He later became a leading Kazakh director.
- Seraly Kozhamkulov plays Keke, a herdsman. Kalibek Kuanyshbayev plays an akyn. Rakhia Koychubayeva is in the cast.
- The original title is Райхан. English listings spell it Rajchan.
- Levin had already directed Amangeldy (1938), the first Kazakh feature.
Scenes
- Raihan leaves Zhaksen on the wedding day.
- She comes back to the aul trained to handle young horses.
- Zhaksen burns the mountain grass to stampede the collective herd, and the herdsmen reach Raihan before he kills her.
