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The Owners

Name: The Owners
Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Released: 2014
Duration: 93 min

Representation Score

6.0/10

Good

2014

Director

Adilkhan Yerzhanov

Runtime

93 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s film is a surrealist exploration of class conflict that succeeds through its strong cultural specificity. By centering a Kazakh perspective, it provides a meaningful departure from Western narrative norms and offers a sharp critique of socioeconomic hierarchies. However, the film lacks engagement with gender-subversive themes or LGBTQ+ representation. The narrative engine relies heavily on men's control over the story, leaving female characters in the periphery. While the film provides a unique non-Western lens, it remains limited in its exploration of identity beyond ethnicity and class, missing opportunities to diversify its character dynamics.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Owners have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

There are no LGBTQ+ characters or narratives that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does The Owners portray gender?

Limited

Male characters drive the narrative, while female characters play minor roles and have little impact on the main storyline.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Owners?

Excellent

The film centers around a predominantly Kazakh cast, providing authentic ethnic representation and disrupting Anglo-centric storytelling conventions.

How does The Owners represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The story critiques capitalist structures and consumerist excess using surreal chaos to explore wealth disparities and systemic corruption.

Does The Owners include disability representation?

Fair

A sickly 12-year-old sister is mentioned, but disability is not a central theme. She may serve as a situational motivator rather than a fully realized character.

Present on Screen

Provides a culturally specific, non-Western perspective through a predominantly Kazakh cast.
Offers a sharp, surrealist critique of capitalist structures and wealth disparity.
Disrupts Anglo-centric storytelling by integrating local identity into the film's texture.

Limited or Absent

Lacks significant engagement with LGBTQ+ identities or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth narratives.
Female characters function as peripheral elements rather than drivers of the story.
Disability is used as a situational motivator rather than a fully realized character trait.

Official Synopsis

25 year-old John, his teenage brother Erbol, and their sickly 12 year-old sister Aliya, are forced to leave their house in the Kazakh city of Almaty. By luck their mother left them a house in a remote village, where they plan to prepare their comeback. But the house appears to be on the wish list of the District Officer’s alcoholic brother, who has lived there illegally for 10 years.

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