15/08/2024 - The Dubai-based Kazakh director believes that toxic masculinity and sexism can be battled with reason instead of force

Following 2018’s Bad Bad Winter (Cannes ACID competition), Olga Korotko brings her sophomore feature, Crickets, It's Your Turn [+see also:
film review
interview: Olga Korotko
film profile], to Locarno’s Cineasti del Presente competition. It’s a tale filled with despicable men and brave women. Cineuropa’s conversation with Korotko turned into a discussion about exaggerated and repulsive characters mirroring real-life toxic behaviours.

Cineuropa: You've explored heavy themes such as exploitation, the patriarchy, hierarchy, rape and justice. How did you mentally approach such loaded subject matter when writing?
Olga Korotko: I don't see them as something independent from one another. They’re the symptoms of the same disease. Whether it's the patriarchy, discrimination or social injustice, the root of these issues is essentially the same. They simply play out differently. Therefore, blending these topics came naturally.

Alpha male Bahyt’s (Arnur Kusaingazin) monologue, which discusses violence and Darwinism from a distorted perspective of toxic masculinity, is provocative. What were you hoping to convey with this speech?
I believe that the common thread behind these issues is the mindset that everything is a competition. If you're not the winner or aggressor, you become the victim. Merey [Inzhu Abeu] opposes this mentality. As we have different things to offer to the world, there is no need for competition or a desire to dominate.

Can even the male characters offer something to the world? They are so nasty and repulsive.
Yes, but they have the potential to change. I don’t believe in binary oppositions of good and bad. People act according to their mental map. These guys applied their aggression to the wrong cause, yet the same forceful energy could have served for something better.

Every male character comes across as despicable. Was this an intentional exaggeration to create a harsh contrast and make a point?
Yes, this portrayal isn't meant to be realistic. Also, when the film depicts Merey’s fantasies, the cinematic reality is not exactly the reality of her real life. The macho behaviour is an exaggeration. Moreover, the film’s title is an expression used in situations when the joke isn’t funny. I mock the patriarchy and machismo, but there is nothing to laugh about, as it’s unnecessary.

Nurlan (Ayan Batyrbek), despite appearing to be less unpleasant, is still deeply dislikeable. However, his pretence of being better and his tendency to follow others arguably make him even more problematic than his friends. Could you elaborate on your approach to crafting his character?
He’s the kind of person who believes in Social Darwinism. He follows without having the will to dominate. He tries to fit in with the current crowd he’s in, thus resembling a chameleon. In the beginning, he’s in a different crowd, yet Nurlan's final actions reflect his desire to align with the patriarchal system. 

He never sees it as a toxic environment?
Not really. The audience members who recognise it will understand the film's intention to bring attention to the problem. From the inside, Nurlan cannot objectively assess its toxicity. One has to be taken out of the system to be able to analyse it.

It almost becomes a pure revenge film, yet it ends up being a cinematic femicide. Why?
There is the idea that women, or victims in general, must be as strong as the aggressors to beat them. We need to fight them on their own turf and with their own weapons, which is essentially the essence of a revenge film. I understand the approach to fight fire with fire for a good cause, yet I believe there’s an alternative. By choosing beauty, Merey wins. She uses her photographer’s talent to positively influence others. She’s the only one to address the invited girls by their names. Her camera lens doesn’t objectify them.

Speech is a crucial character marker, not only because of the vocabulary, but also the tendency to stay silent in certain situations. How much effort did you put into writing this speech?
A lot, especially when creating those macho and sexist conversations. I’m not surrounded by such people, but one evening, by chance, I ended up in such a circle. They were showing off with similar macho stories. I got the material I was looking for. Additionally, Nurlybek Maulezaripov, who plays Max, did his research by observing some acquaintances and by surfing in specific forums. On set, he told these sexist stories about hiring girls. We filmed it. All of the reactions from the other actors were authentic.

Russian is used predominantly, with occasional sentences uttered in Kazakh.  Can you elaborate on the bilingual aspect?
I wanted to recreate the reality of blended cultures and languages. In Kazakhstan, people switch between languages all the time. In the beginning, the script was only in Russian. Then I encouraged the actors to switch to Kazakh whenever they felt like it.

Bad Bad Winter also explores similar dynamics. What draws you to creating stories with such heightened tension?
It comes from within. I believe that a movie mirrors the DNA of its creator. In me, there is a smouldering tension, which drives me to constantly search for answers. Action-wise, the film is not that eventful, and nor does it have too many location changes. I opted for an underlying tension and the right rhythm.