An unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.
Director:
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Stars:
Dogu Demirkol,
Murat Cemcir,
Bennu Yildirimlar
A dowdy university instructor Isa is an inattentive husband to his younger, TV-business wife Bahar. Self-absorbed and selfish, Isa only communicates in the most rudimentary way, while she, similarly, detaches into crying jags and juvenile behavior.
Yusuf is released from prison after serving a ten-year sentence. He is scared of life outside as he goes to an address given to him by another prisoner.
This is a movie within movie, which is almost recursive, i.e., the movie inside looks like director Ceylan's previous movie, Kasaba. It is about the movie director, Muzaffer, going back to ... See full summary »
The story of a family living in a small godforsaken town in Turkey seen through the eyes of children and dealing with the growing complexity when one becomes an adult.
Director:
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Stars:
Mehmet Emin Toprak,
Havva Saglam,
Cihat Bütün
A man's life, thoughts, feelings and his very own darkness... Adapted from Dostoevsky's novel "Notes from Undergroud", Demirkubuz follows Muharrem as he gets himself invited to a party ... See full summary »
Director:
Zeki Demirkubuz
Stars:
Engin Günaydin,
Serhat Tutumluer,
Nihal Yalcin
A short, silent, black and white story about life, survival, death; animals, objects, trees; young and old. It is mostly an aggregation of a bunch of good photos which is not surprising for Ceylan, a photographer director.
Aydin, a former actor, runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his young wife Nihal with whom he has a stormy relationship and his sister Necla who is suffering from her recent divorce. In winter as the snow begins to fall, the hotel turns into a shelter but also an inescapable place that fuels their animosities...Written by
Cannes Film Festival
Turkish director Ceylan is being sued for alleged animal cruelty as one of the horses was tortured during capture. The Law for the Protection of Animals in Turkey stipulates various fines for those who commit animal cruelty. A draft code that was submitted to the Turkish Parliament this month calls for jail time for those who abuse animals. See more »
Goofs
The books in Aydin's hands change during the argument with his wife. See more »
Quotes
Aydin:
Justice doesn't even exist in nature, why should it exist here?
See more »
Aydin (Haluk Bilginer) is a wealthy man, a former actor who now runs a hotel in Cappadocia. He also writes a column for the local newspaper, and is researching for his planned book about the history of Turkish theater. Nihal (Melisa Sözen) is his beautiful and much younger wife. Necla (Demet Akbag) is his divorced sister.
Also involved the family of Aydin's poor tenants who could not pay their rent for several months already. The friendly and gregarious Hamdi appeals for compassion, while his older brother, the impetuous jobless ex-con Ismail and his sullen young son Illyas, could not hide their contempt for their landlord.
This film is about the various conversations and confrontations between these people. These may begin as abstract debates about not resisting evil or boredom or donations, yet they all end up being very personal. There is no real plot, just a lot of seemingly random dialogue. Although, there are arguments that seemed endless and repetitive, these confrontations were eloquently written with very meaningful words for both sides of the issue. These long talky scenes were riveting despite their length and you hang on to every word they were saying. The performances of the actors of these flawed characters were faultless and so natural.
The cinematography of this film is so amazingly beautiful as it magically captured the unique topography of Cappadocia during the wintertime. There were several picture-perfect haunting scenes throughout, specially those about the Anatolian horse, the cemetery, the train tracks, the tree with the birds, the rabbit in the brush, the town, the hotel -- all covered with pristine snow. The close-ups of the actors were all so perfectly framed to achieve maximal drama. The use of mirrors to vary the camera shots were very good.
I admit that the 3-hour and 16-minute length of this film can be felt. However, you do not really mind this time running as you listen to intellectually-stimulating emotionally-rich conversation. This film is a masterpiece of world cinema by acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, truly worthy of its Palme d'Or during the Cannes Film Festival this summer. This should be a shoo-in to at least be nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. 9/10.
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Aydin (Haluk Bilginer) is a wealthy man, a former actor who now runs a hotel in Cappadocia. He also writes a column for the local newspaper, and is researching for his planned book about the history of Turkish theater. Nihal (Melisa Sözen) is his beautiful and much younger wife. Necla (Demet Akbag) is his divorced sister.
Also involved the family of Aydin's poor tenants who could not pay their rent for several months already. The friendly and gregarious Hamdi appeals for compassion, while his older brother, the impetuous jobless ex-con Ismail and his sullen young son Illyas, could not hide their contempt for their landlord.
This film is about the various conversations and confrontations between these people. These may begin as abstract debates about not resisting evil or boredom or donations, yet they all end up being very personal. There is no real plot, just a lot of seemingly random dialogue. Although, there are arguments that seemed endless and repetitive, these confrontations were eloquently written with very meaningful words for both sides of the issue. These long talky scenes were riveting despite their length and you hang on to every word they were saying. The performances of the actors of these flawed characters were faultless and so natural.
The cinematography of this film is so amazingly beautiful as it magically captured the unique topography of Cappadocia during the wintertime. There were several picture-perfect haunting scenes throughout, specially those about the Anatolian horse, the cemetery, the train tracks, the tree with the birds, the rabbit in the brush, the town, the hotel -- all covered with pristine snow. The close-ups of the actors were all so perfectly framed to achieve maximal drama. The use of mirrors to vary the camera shots were very good.
I admit that the 3-hour and 16-minute length of this film can be felt. However, you do not really mind this time running as you listen to intellectually-stimulating emotionally-rich conversation. This film is a masterpiece of world cinema by acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, truly worthy of its Palme d'Or during the Cannes Film Festival this summer. This should be a shoo-in to at least be nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. 9/10.