Stinker

Bluesky

Sweeping in across the plains in an elegant opening shot, Yerden Telemissov’s Stinker captures in an instant the conundrum of rural Kazakhstan: the sheer vastness of the country and the smallness of the settlements within it. it would be a stretch even to refer to the place where most of the film is set as a village. There’s a store with a cafeteria section, a small outhouse and a large car park; it’s mostly visited by tourists. A little further away is a police station with two officers, one of them strict and officious, the other sweet but lackadaisical and a little bit dim. Somewhere nearby, a boy on a horse herds sheep and an old, drunken man staggers along, swigging down the last contents of the bottle around which his world revolves. This is the man known as Stinker. His life has been much the same every day since the death of his wife, but two things are about to change it forever.

The first of these events comes as Stinker, having finally decided that he’s had enough, puts a rope around his neck and climbs onto one of the electricity pylons which are among the few signs of civilisation. Just as he’s about to do the deed, the sky fills up with flashing lights, there’s a roaring sound, and something from the outer void comes crashing down to Earth. Secondly, someone from a world which seems equally remote signs a piece of paper, and a decision is made. A motorcade full of high ranking officials is to pass down the road beside the store. It is therefore the police officers’ job to ensure that the place looks its best, and get unsightly individuals like Stinker out of there.

What if a lost alien were found not by a sweet little boy but by an ageing alcoholic drifter? There’s more than a dash of ET in this tale, which sees distant, stubborn individuals brought together by a new arrival from the stars. Naturally, no-one will believe Stinker at first, but before long Amina, the little girl who lives at the store with her grandmother and spends most of her time playing games on her tablet, befriends the alien herself, and inevitably her gruff grandmother does too, revealing her kindly side. When it reveals that on its world there is no concept of family, you can see where this is going.

“Mr. Stinker, these are just myths,” the young police officer tells him, with confidence. “There are no other planets. The Earth is flat. I saw it on YouTube.”

A degree of urgency is added to the story by the alien’s allergy to Earth’s atmosphere, which sees it weaken over time. Stinker searches for the right metal to mend its equipment and help it phone home. It warns of the danger of nuclear war like an interplanetary emissary from the Fifties, but the film is anything but preachy. It’s full of sly satire, some of it subtle and some rather less so, like the television in the corner of the store which provides quiet commentary in the background. There is also a good deal of literal toilet humour which will make you glad that smellovision never took off.

A little messy and not very original, but full of heart, Stinker is an enjoyable watch and will appeal to viewers of all ages. It screened as part of Fantasia 2025.

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