Three Monkeys (2008)
"Üç maymun" (original title)

A family suffers from a major communication breakdown during their struggle to to get through their hardships.

Director:

Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Writers:

Ebru Ceylan (screenplay), Ercan Kesal (screenplay),

Stars:

Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan, Ahmet Rifat Sungar

7 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Yavuz Bingol	...	Eyüp (as Yavuz Bingöl)
Hatice Aslan	...	Hacer
Ahmet Rifat Sungar	...	Ismail
Ercan Kesal	...	Servet
Cafer Köse	...	Bayram
Gürkan Aydin	...	Cocuk

Storyline

Near the Bosporus, Eyüp and Hacer live in a modest flat with their son Ismail, in his twenties, who's doing poorly in his studies. Few words pass between them, and a past family tragedy brings sorrow daily. On a rainy night, Eyüp's boss Servet, a wealthy businessman who's entering politics, hits a pedestrian on a lonely road. He drives off and offers money to Eyüp if Eyüp will take the fall - probably a six-month sentence. Eyüp agrees, and while he's in prison, Ismail wants his mother to ask Servet for enough money to buy a car. Servet, in turn, desires Hacer. How can this play out?

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Plot Keywords:

money | prison | politics | bosporus | desperation | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [hu]

Country:

Turkey France Italy

Language:

Turkish

Release Date:

24 October 2008 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Three Monkeys

Filming Locations:

Istanbul, Turkey

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,045 (USA) (27 March 2009)

Gross:

$41,343 (USA) (17 July 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zeynofilm, NBC Film, Pyramide Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the Best Director Award with this film in 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

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Goofs

Ismail's safety belt fastened on and off at consecutive cuts,while he is driving his father back from the prison.

User Reviews

Dark, stylish, noir thriller is definitely no turkey!

I can't remember if I've ever seen a Turkish film before, which is a pity, because if Three Monkeys is anything to go by, I have missed some terrific movies.

This is a dark, stylish, noir thriller which sees a man agreeing to take the rap for his political master who is involved in a car accident. In return for doing time for a crime he did not commit, his boss will continue to pay his salary to his family, and also settle the 'debt' with a lump sum payment when the man is eventually released. While he is in prison, his wife is left to hold the family together and she and her son quickly get caught up in a web of passion and betrayal.

Director, Nuri Bilge Ceylan carried off the Best Director Award at Cannes for this, his fifth feature, and it's not hard to see why.

Three Monkeys is is a dark, brooding film, where every shot has been thought through and framed with meticulous detail. Long, intense close ups of the principal characters produces sustained psychological tension as unspoken words seem to fly through the air like knives.

The principal cast of Three Monkeys; Yavuz Bingöl, Hatice Aslan, Ahmat Rifal Sungar, and Ercan Kesal, are universally good, but top credits should go to Hatice Aslan, the femme fatale of the piece, who has the ability to convey many layers of meaning by saying little and feeling much.

Highly recommended.