WHITE SUN OF THE DESERT

Sometimes referred to as "Soviet Lawrence of Arabia", WHITE SUN OF THE DESERT is set around the eastern Caspian and Central Asian desert regions, in an area that today overlaps modern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and parts of Kazakhstan.

Set during the Civil War, the film occupies a unique place in Soviet cinema. We follow a Red Army soldier escorting a group of women across a barren desert while waiting for orders that never quite arrive. What unfolds is part adventure film, part comedy, and part meditation on duty and displacement.

The women, abandoned by their defeated Basmachi bandit leader, are adorned in beautiful costumes blending traditional Uzbek and Turkmen elements. Veils, layered garments, and rich textures reflect how Soviet filmmakers visually coded “Eastern” and “traditional” Central Asian life.

The film’s tone is deceptively light. Dry humour sits alongside moments of loneliness and quiet melancholy. The protagonist dreams of home while remaining trapped in a transitional space, neither at war nor at peace.

Over time, the film became a cultural touchstone. Lines entered everyday language. Scenes were endlessly quoted. It became tradition for Soviet and later Russian cosmonauts to watch the film before space missions, a ritual tied to endurance and isolation. Beneath its accessible surface lies a reflection on historical uncertainty and the emotional cost of political change.