Becoming

With such a descriptive title, it’s no surprise that Zhannat Alshanova’s feature directorial debut is a coming-of-age story. The action takes place in Kazakhstan during the post-Soviet era. Seventeen-year-old Mila (Tamiris Zhangazinova) is a talented swimmer and a stereotypically ornery teenage daughter. Her mother (Assel Kaliyeva) isn’t much more mature either, leaving Mila and her younger sister on their own as she takes a last-minute flight to win the attention of a foreign lover. While her mother’s away, Mila must grow up on her own. The open water swim team, coached by Vlad, played by notable Lithuanian actor Valentin Novopolskij, seduces her with the freedom that the open water sport represents, and the community-shaped hole it fills in her life.

“Seduction” is a good word to describe Mila’s initial attraction to the team. When she first sees the girls practicing, the cinematography mysteriously lingers and slowly zooms in on the other young women, possibly hinting at a physical attraction. The same wandering gaze is applied to Vlad with more directness. A few of the girls even dream of applying the former East German swimming team’s strategy – being impregnated by their coach just before the competition for a hormonal boost – with their own coach. Mila takes a shot at him too, perhaps subconsciously thinking that acting on her sexual feelings will make her a woman. After all, the woman closest to her temporarily abandoned her children to have coitus with a man in another country.

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