Contest

Inthe1960s,MansurovprovidedamodelofCentralAsiancinematographythatwasquicklyandeffectivelyrepeatedbyhiscontemporariestoestablishacanonofCentralAsiancinema,whichwouldbecomeknownasthe&quot;goldenage’&quot;oftheregion’scinematichistory.Localidentity,locallandscape,localactorsandlocalthemesconfrontedtheSoviettraditionofuniversalismandmodernitydirectedfromthe&quot;commandingheights&quot;ofMoscow.MansurovrenderedaCentralAsianviewofhumanitythattranscendedsocialistparadigmsandcreatedanimportantprecedentinCentralAsiancultureasitdriftedfromMoscow’scontrol.<br/>　　...<br/>　　AccordingtoKhodjakuliNarliev,Mansurov’ssuccesslayinhisabilitytocombinephilosophywiththevisualrichnessofrealism:<br/>　　&quot;1963,theyearoftheproductionofthefilmTheContest,isatthesametimetheyearofrenaissanceforTurkmencinema.ThisfilmwasourmessagetotherestoftheSovietUnionastotherestoftheworld.&quot;<br/>　　ButthetransformationwasnotlimitedtoTurkmenistan:&quot;TheContestrepresentedsomethingtotallynewforthecinemainCentralAsiaasawhole,&quot;Narlievcontinued.Afteritsinitialscreening,ChingizAitmatovwroteaboutMansurov’sfilm:<br/>　　&quot;IdonotknowofasimilarworkinthecinemaofCentralAsia.Thisoneisonthelevelofthemasterpiecesofworldart.Aftersuchafilm,manywillhavetorevisetheirartisticpositionswiththecinema,andwiththissuccess,onecannotworkasbefore;thecriteriahavemovedtoahigherlevel.&quot;<br/>　　Morerecently,DavlatKhudonazarovstated:&quot;BulatMansurov’sTheContestplayedforusthesamepartasthatofRome,OpenCityofRosselliniforEuropeancinema.&quot;