Kantemir Balagov steps into English-language cinema with a volatile, kinetic family drama set in New Jersey. The film follows a Circassian clan as they navigate a new country, with their Newark restaurant serving as a pressure cooker for old loyalties and new ambitions.
Zalya, named for its proprietor and portrayed by Riley Keough, sits in a drab building and is lit with a blunt, fluorescent glow. Azik, played by Barry Keoghan, stirs the kitchen with skill, turning potato-and-cheese pancakes into a nostalgic touchstone for the diaspora.
Azik’s sister and his 16-year-old son Temir—an aspiring wrestler—orbit the family’s high‑voltage dynamics. Temir’s wins bring pride, even as he grapples with a personal choice involving a sex worker he has brought into the orbit after a tournament.
Keoghan injects Azik with rambunctious energy, while Harry Melling plays Marat, a schemer whose schemes wobble between charm and menace. Balagov stages the family’s interactions with a dance-like assertiveness, using handheld moves and background riffs to puncture dialogue and push the tension forward.
The filmmaker’s approach magnifies masculine fragility through muscular, kinetic scenes and long takes that sponsor a charged atmosphere. Jomo Fray’s cinematography bathes Newark’s working‑class corners in a lush glow, turning the everyday into something mythic. A pink motif threads through scenes as a visual shorthand for aspiration and vulnerability.
A notable, tongue-in-cheek pelican moment punctures the drama and signals Balagov’s appetite for bold, cinematic tricks. The opening flash‑forward hints at tragedy to come, establishing a through-line that nods to the director’s prior exploration of trauma and memory.
While the film sometimes strains under its own abundance, it delivers flashes of grace that showcase Balagov’s distinctive voice. The final beat lands with a cinematic flourish, topped by a cameo that invites a wink to the audience.
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