In this Kazakh drama the boredom of an aimless Generation X-er in Alma-Ata is chronicled. The protagonist is a 20-year old poet adrift in his life. He spends his days writing, conversing with friends, visiting lovers, taking drugs and listening to opera. His mother's concerns about his laziness fall on deaf ears. Throughout the film, the boy begins pondering his life and becomes increasingly alienated from the world around him. He even begins to withdraw from his women and this creates problems for him. Sharing drugs becomes his only meaningful contact with others. The more he muses the darker his life becomes until at last, he takes the next logical step and tries to end his life.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide