Tulpan (12A)

Sergei Dvortsevoy, 100 mins

After all 2012's digital prestidigitation, it's a breath of fresh air to see Tulpan, a life-affirming film set on the plains of Kazakhstan, where an apprentice shepherd is failing to find a wife. It may be a finely crafted comedy drama, but it's also a window to a real location populated by real people – and, indeed, real camels. All the special effects in 2012 can't compete with a long, unbroken shot of the leading man assisting in the birth of a lamb.