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Suimenkul Chokmorov

Suimenkul Chokmorov

Acting

Biography

Suimenkul Chokmorov (November 9, 1939 – September 26, 1992) was a Kyrgyz Soviet actor and painter who became one of the most recognizable faces of the Kyrgyz Miracle cinema wave during the 1960s and 1970s. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1981. Born in the village of Chong-Tash, Chokmorov initially pursued a career in the fine arts, graduating from the Leningrad Academy of Arts in 1964. He shifted to acting in his late twenties, making his film debut in Bolotbek Shamshiyev's A Shooting at the Karash Pass (1968). His screen presence and minimalist acting style quickly made him a frequent collaborator for leading Central Asian directors. Chokmorov starred in several high-profile adaptations of Chingiz Aitmatov's literary works, including Jamilya (1968), The Ferocious One (1973), and The Red Apple (1975). He also appeared in regional action-dramas such as The Seventh Bullet (1972) and gained international exposure by playing a supporting role in Akira Kurosawa’s Oscar-winning Soviet-Japanese co-production Dersu Uzala (1975). Throughout his career, Chokmorov balanced his work between film sets and his art studio, continuing to paint portraits and landscapes alongside his cinematic activities until his death in 1992.

Known For

Dersu Uzala
7.9

A military explorer meets and befriends a Goldi man in Russia’s unmapped forests. A deep and abiding bond evolves between the two men, one civilized in the usual sense, the other at home in the glacial Siberian woods.

Dersu Uzala

1975
The Seventh Bullet
5.2

Despite the restoration of Soviet power in the area, Basmachis continue to arrive from across the border, bringing death and destruction to peaceful villages. One of the bands of rebels is led by Khairulla who is pitted against the militsiya (local militia) leader Maxumov. At first it seems hopeless for Maxumov as the rebels capture most of his men, winning them over to his side. He has only one strategy left; to give himself up, and try to explain to the people that Khairulla has deceived them, turning the soldiers back to revolution. Later in pursuit of his enemy, he chases Khairulla across a river. He has only one bullet left -- the seventh, and he must not miss his target!

The Seventh Bullet

1973
The Life and Death of Ferdinand Luce
8.0

A West German concern is conducting secret negotiations with an interested state on the production of an atomic bomb. The son of the head of the concern, realizing the enormity and scope of his father's activities, interrupts the negotiations and returns home with the intention of publicizing his father's activities.

The Life and Death of Ferdinand Luce

1977
Dzhamilya
6.4

In a remote Kyrgyz village, Dzhamilya follows her parents' orders when she marries a man without loving him. Then World War II breaks out and her new husband has to leave the village. While being alone, Dzhamiliya meets the returning soldier Daniyar and falls in love with him instead. Years later, their young friend Seid reminisces about the couple.

Dzhamilya

1969
Ulan
10.0

Ulan follows a sailor whose marriage disintegrates and longs for his younger days on horseback

Ulan

1977
The Fierce One
4.6

A boy raises a wolf cub, but when released into the wild, it returns to attack him.

The Fierce One

1973
The Apple of My Eye
N/A

The death of their exceptional father shakes the Shatmanov family to its core, forcing them to reflect on the past and future. Erkin, who has built a life in Moscow, faces criticism from relatives who see him as having betrayed his roots. Yet his love and work keep him tied to the city. This film delves into the inner struggles of a modern man torn between duty and belonging.

The Apple of My Eye

1976
Gunshot at the Mountain Pass
6.4

About the Kirghiz aristocracy's attempt to battle the influx of Russian merchants in pre-Revolution days.

Gunshot at the Mountain Pass

1968
Extraordinary Commissar
7.0

Extraordinary Commissar Pyotr Kobozev arrives in Soviet Turkestan on Lenin's personal order. He will have to quickly and accurately understand the situation and take appropriate measures against the counter-revolutionaries.

Extraordinary Commissar

1970
No image
9.0

No description available.

The First

1985
Worship the Fire
8.0

Kyrgyzstan, the 1920s. In a remote mountain village, against the will of the local elites and in defiance of centuries-old traditions, a woman—Urkuya Salieva—is elected chair of the agricultural cooperative. Salieva is determined to build a new life with an uncompromising resolve against anyone who would obstruct the poor, a stance unusual for a woman.

Worship the Fire

1972
Red Poppies of Issyk-Koul
9.0

Directed by Bolotbek Shamshiyev, the movie shows Kyrgyzstan under early Soviet rule; and tells us about opium contrabanda across the border.

Red Poppies of Issyk-Koul

1971
The Red Apple
6.5

A chronicle of a few days in a small family, a story about the difficulties of human contacts, the complexity of love. The image of red apples - strong and clear, profound and lucid. Okeyev's "apple" bears a special meaning. Juices of the earth and sun, it is a lyrical symbol of happiness and harmony.

The Red Apple

1975
Wolf Trap
N/A

Samat is an orphan, and he strikes up a friendship with Musa, who is wheelchair bound due to illness. Little does he know Musa has ties to the criminal world.

Wolf Trap

1983
Early Cranes
7.0

Sultanmurat is a 14 year old boy who lives in a small Kyrgyz village. All the men have gone off to war so he is left alone to tend to the horses who are weak with hunger.

Early Cranes

1980
Men Without Women
9.0

A team of rescue workers do what they can in the desperate situation left by an earthquake in the Kyrgyz mountains.

Men Without Women

1981
I am Tian Shan
N/A

Ilyas loves driving through difficult mountain routes. It is here, in the mountains, that he meets Asel, falling in love at first sight. Since she is betrothed to another, the two decide to elope.

I am Tian Shan

1973
Kanybek
N/A

Kyrgyzstan of the 19th century. For his audacity, the rich Tyulkubek enslaves the poor young Kanybek. Kanybek runs into the mountains...

Kanybek

1978
Sunday Walks
9.0

Aigerim lives in a boarding school. Her parents divorced and now she sees them only on weekends: the father visits the girl on Sundays, the mother on Saturdays. Long walks with her father help Aigerim come to terms with the circumstances of her life and continue to love her mother.

Sunday Walks

1984
Waves Die On The Shore
N/A

When the war broke out, two brothers—Askhat and Murat—left for the front. Only Askhat returned home. Murat, however, was taken prisoner; he ended up in Germany, where he was recruited into an intelligence school. After the war, he lived in the West. Thirty-five years later, Murat—now an agent for the anti-Soviet émigré community—returned to his native village as a tourist. His former fiancée, Bermet, had married Askhat, and the couple was now raising their grandchildren. Upon learning that Bermet had given birth to a daughter back during the war, Murat realized that both the daughter and the grandchildren were his. Yet, he made no claims to them; instead, he silently accepted the role of a mere observer—and in that capacity, he returned to Munich.

Waves Die On The Shore

1985