The Chimp

A young man learns how hard growing up can be in this family themed drama. Maimyl (Mirlan Abdykalykov), or “the Chimp,” is a teenager growing up in a quiet town in the Central Asian nation of Kirgizstan; he gained his nickname thanks to his large, protruding ears. There isn’t much for a young man to do in Maimyl’s hometown except kill time and wait to be drafted, and as he waits for his call-up for mandatory military service, Maimyl tries to sort out his relationship with his girlfriend and make peace with his father (Dzylkycy Dzakypov), who has a severe drinking problem. However, he soon has bigger family problems to deal with when his mother (Aingul Essenkoyeva) decides she’s had enough of her husband’s alcoholism and leaves him, taking their younger daughter with her. Maimyl was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard program at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.