Directed by the award-winning Nuri Bilge Ceylan (aka NBC), this story centers upon a young graduate, Sinan (Dogu Demirkol) returning to his home town to get financing from somebody - anybody - to publish his newly completed novel. Like most young people, Sinan wants success. But he's not exactly tolerant of people, treating his mother and sister with indifference, his father - a primary school teacher - with contempt for his addictive gambling, others with thinly-veiled antagonism. His wish to be published is a wild dream, of course, like many budding writers looking for recognition. However, this movie is not just a story about getting published....
The opening scene, through a glass darkly, shows Sinan inside a cafe, sitting and drinking tea, with the vista he's brooding upon reflected, for the viewer, in the glass-covered front. It's a cleverly unsettling scene because it shows the real overlaid with the unreal as though one. So, as we continue to watch this story unfold, that metaphor is further developed with Sinan meandering his way around town, on rural roads and tracks, through forests, glades etc. - giving himself a lot of time to ponder his options, his choices, his wants. And all the while, indulging himself in a number of real or totally imaginary encounters with - in no particular order - his parents, his sister, old friends, a local businessman who sells sand, young friends, one of his old flames, a well-known local writer, the town mayor, a couple of local imams, his maternal and paternal grandparents, and a few others with whom he is familiar.
Life is full of banalities and choices, some important. But most important are things that truly matter, whether real or imaginary. So, just as we day-dream from time to time as we wrestle with our own problems and plans, here also we are watching Sinan doing the same as he moves about the area. Because, in a number of his encounters, what he does or says is simply impossible, highly improbable or totally ridiculous. Fortunately, there are clues along the way to help the viewer to discriminate and decide which is which. Perhaps. Meaning this exquisitely visual exposition requires the viewer's keen attention to detail, throughout.
On the other hand, unlike some of NBC's prior movies - e.g. Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (2011), Winter Sleep (2014) - this story doesn't have the same dramatic punch with which we are familiar, when a narrative is finally resolved. Instead, it explores truths that are universal and that cannot be denied, especially when Sinan finally realizes what's most important for him to choose. And even though, with his final shocking day-dream, a future possibility he imagines for himself is not something anyone would wish for.
Dogu Demirkol, a relative newcomer as Sinan, is in almost every scene; and his portrayal of an egocentric, combatively arrogant young man is simply superb. That said, the rest of the cast acquit themselves equally well, in my opinion. And, naturally, the setting and production are up to the usual NBC standard.
Highly recommended for all young and old adults. Nine out of ten.
The opening scene, through a glass darkly, shows Sinan inside a cafe, sitting and drinking tea, with the vista he's brooding upon reflected, for the viewer, in the glass-covered front. It's a cleverly unsettling scene because it shows the real overlaid with the unreal as though one. So, as we continue to watch this story unfold, that metaphor is further developed with Sinan meandering his way around town, on rural roads and tracks, through forests, glades etc. - giving himself a lot of time to ponder his options, his choices, his wants. And all the while, indulging himself in a number of real or totally imaginary encounters with - in no particular order - his parents, his sister, old friends, a local businessman who sells sand, young friends, one of his old flames, a well-known local writer, the town mayor, a couple of local imams, his maternal and paternal grandparents, and a few others with whom he is familiar.
Life is full of banalities and choices, some important. But most important are things that truly matter, whether real or imaginary. So, just as we day-dream from time to time as we wrestle with our own problems and plans, here also we are watching Sinan doing the same as he moves about the area. Because, in a number of his encounters, what he does or says is simply impossible, highly improbable or totally ridiculous. Fortunately, there are clues along the way to help the viewer to discriminate and decide which is which. Perhaps. Meaning this exquisitely visual exposition requires the viewer's keen attention to detail, throughout.
On the other hand, unlike some of NBC's prior movies - e.g. Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (2011), Winter Sleep (2014) - this story doesn't have the same dramatic punch with which we are familiar, when a narrative is finally resolved. Instead, it explores truths that are universal and that cannot be denied, especially when Sinan finally realizes what's most important for him to choose. And even though, with his final shocking day-dream, a future possibility he imagines for himself is not something anyone would wish for.
Dogu Demirkol, a relative newcomer as Sinan, is in almost every scene; and his portrayal of an egocentric, combatively arrogant young man is simply superb. That said, the rest of the cast acquit themselves equally well, in my opinion. And, naturally, the setting and production are up to the usual NBC standard.
Highly recommended for all young and old adults. Nine out of ten.