FilmCriticLalitRao There is something magical in the films from Central Asian republics that serious viewers cannot disassociate themselves from them.No one knows for sure whether it has got something to do with folklore or customs or the fact that they have freed themselves from Soviet union.Whatever might be the reason it is sure that some of the films from these reasons are made by enterprising film makers who have always made nice films despite having been burdened with lack of funds.Schizo is one such film made by Guka Omarova.In the past she has been assistant to the great Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov.She has made good use of the current day political situation in Kazakhstan to make an entertaining film by using some rather common dramatic elements.Schizo functions as a double edged sword as not only it entertains but always leaves a serious message on viewers' minds.The film is a watchable treat thanks to the title character who proves in the end that the week and meek are not to be taken for granted.

Lee Eisenberg The title refers to young Mustafa (Oldzhas Nusupbayev), who is believed to be schizophrenic by everyone. In reality, he is just different. Still, no one believes that he could ever go on to do greater things. But Mustafa has some surprises in store for them."Shiza" (called "Schizo" in English) is a truly heartwarming flick from Kazakhstan. In a way, I could sort of relate to Mustafa: assumed to be weird by everyone. This may be the only Kazakh movie that I've ever seen, but it certainly is great. Aside from the plot, the scenery is beyond impressive. This is truly one movie that makes you want more. I certainly hope that the people behind this movie produce more movies.

Chris Knipp "Schizo" is the picaresque tale of a fifteen-year-old boy branded as nuts, who gives up on his mom and school and runs with his mom's boyfriend, a petty tough guy and crooked fight promoter. At school he got the nickname, "Shiza," but he turns out to be smart, tough, and humane – a powerful combination at any age. His real name is Mustapha (the slinky, smiling young actor's called Oldzhas Nusupbayev, all these people are Kazaks and the film is in Russian), and he has more of the criminal psychopath in him – there are signs that his sense of right and wrong is a bit loose – but whatever roughness he has is mitigated by the kindness he shows when a guy he's helped recruit to fight gets killed and Schizo takes on the dead fighter's girlfriend and her little boy as his responsibility and his new family.This is the best rough crime adventure storytelling on film since the Chinese "Blind Shaft". The boy is lean and dark and graceful and his face has a Slavic Mogul beauty, and it's impassive till he shows his big sudden smile. This is pure narrative without introspection, and the fun of it, what makes it fresh and newly minted from shot to shot, is that we don't know what Mustapha has inside, so everything that happens – his determination, stamina, and spirit, his willingness to take on poses like a pair of dark glasses and a cigarette dangling from the corner of the mouth in a mirror (a bit like Belmondo mimicking Bogie in Godard's "Breathless") – is all a gift. Like a true picaresque anti-hero Mustapha is a social reject, but capable of blending in anywhere and slipping by without lasting damage.In the opening scene Mustapha's mom takes him to a doctor, a boorish chap all done up in stiff whites like a sous-chef. It seems she's bought the idea that her son's defective, because she's going to save up for him to get treatment. But her boyfriend Sakura (Eduard Tabishev) sees that he can be a harmless helper in his fight schemes if he'll keep silent and help lure in fall guys. Schizo proves to be more than that, a cocky kid with a certain panache, a sliding swagger of a walk, an ability to swill down vodka with grown men. But his independent spirit soon leads him away from his mom's boyfriend and out on his own.The events that follow shouldn't be revealed, but they're both natural and surprising, and it's a deft adventure that leads toward wisdom and happiness.The people are intensified because of their toughness and the desolate harsh beauty of the scenery. Zinka (Olga Landina), the girl Schizo adopts, is a cross between Mia Farrow and Sissy Spacek. Her exchanges with Schizo are priceless, largely because of his combination of naivete and boldness. The rough men around the fight scene aren't caricatures; they're just tough and vivid. One event follows hard upon another and there's an edge of danger and menace but also a growing sense that this Mustapha fellow is both an operator and a sweetie-pie. Such a combination might seem corny sometimes, but it works fine here. The writing is economical (imagine early Hemingway with a Kazhakistan accent), the direction and editing are spare and energetic. The narrative delivers its little surprises with raw poetry, like a good short story. This first film is a little gem.

noralee "Schizo (Shiza)" is a wonderful demonstration of how new world cinema can take old stories that we've seen in the movies before and make them fresh in a new context.We've all seen the movie about the poor, naive kid in way over his head with the local gangsters, who provide the only jobs in the neighborhood, then he starts feeling sorry for his boss's victims and tries to do the right thing for the survivors.Debut director and co-writer Gulshat Omarova takes a unique approach through several elements.First is the striking views of Kazakhstan in what has to be some of the bleakest locales of economic hopelessness and anarchy since the "Mad Max" movies, and this isn't post-apocalyptic science fiction.Second is the striking casting of first-time or amateur actors with simply marvelous faces and on screen presence, particularly the young man playing the titularly nicknamed character. I'm sure U.S. audiences are missing some of the inter-ethnic tensions that can only be guessed as the actors have a variety of racial features, from Russian to Central and East Asian to Middle Eastern, let alone their accents or use of language.Also unique is how the story has the tenderness of Truffaut's "The Four Hundred Blows" in seeing how an out of kilter kid gets treated harshly in this environment, from lousy schools to incompetent doctors, and has to grow up too fast.While the film is excellent at demonstrating how raw masculinity and cruelty thrives in this brutal atmosphere, it is beautiful at showing the attraction of domesticity as women have appeal beyond (though of course including) sex. It manages to make unlikely relationships touching and credible as humans strive to create family out of whatever fractured groupings are available to them. It reinvents the love story.