★★★★☆
Balkar director Said Tolgurov’s second film works to ground the viewer through the breathtaking, mountain landscape of Kabarda–Balkaria.
In the Mountains. He (2026) follows two musical ethnographers — Albert (Albert Mamiev) and Eldar (Eldar Hagazheev) — as they embark on a road-cum-hiking trip to hunt down the last performer of an old Circassian song.
Following an abstract opening scene, the camera follows as the two — played, as the actors’ names suggest, by friends of the director rather than by professionals — drive to a small village, little prepared for what is to come. Wearing Hawaiian shirts and with a carefree attitude, both are shocked when they arrive at the performer’s house only to be told by the man’s granddaughter that ‘Grandpa went to the mountains to die’. Her follow-up that ‘he does it all the time’, does little to mollify the two — but it does make for the beginning of a solid comedy.
Since it is a beautiful summer’s day, Albert and Eldar decide to try and follow the man’s footsteps, hiking into the mountains themselves. It’s not long before their incongruous outfits draw the attention of a proper hiker (played by Tolgurov himself) who offers to assist them in finding the performer.
From here, the rest of the film plays out as the three enjoy the beauty of their surroundings, prompting deep discussions of what it means to be Circassian or Balkar without knowing the language, how men can keep their masculinity in an age of decreasing testosterone, and how social media is creating a world without silence, wherein self-contemplation becomes impossible. While asking and debating tough issues, a sense of humour is kept throughout, particularly via the idiosyncrasies of Tolgurov’s character, whom Albert and Eldar compare to an Azheghafe, or traditional Circassian character who is able to live outside society’s traditional rules.
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Breaking up the hike are separate scenes of Circassian musicians, hinting at the type of work the ethnographers collect. These musical interludes, while jarring at first, offer space to think about the previous discussions as well as explore elements of a re-emerging culture.
The film’s last few minutes return to the abstract beginning, but this time the scenes potentially run a bit too long, losing the momentum built in the prior 100 minutes. The open ending may also frustrate some viewers.
Yet, if one simply sees the film as an exploration, wherein the journey is more important than the destination, it becomes a successful call for introspection and reflection. Indeed, as Tolgurov emphasises in a voice-over towards the end of the film, silence is something that should be embraced, not avoided. His film with plenty of quiet moments with long panning shots of the mountains surrounding his characters provides just this space to reflect and settle in a world that does not ask for constant movement and reactions.
Film details: In the Mountains. He (2026), directed by Said Tolgurov. It premiered at the 2026 Spirit of Fire Film Festival where it won the Silver Rose Award for Best Music.
