- Film Review
- Reviewed By David Parkinson
-
4 out of 5
Mehmet Emin Toprak and Muzaffer Ozdemir shared the best actor prize at Cannes for their work in this meticulous insight into the disintegration of traditional ties and the crisis of masculinity in modern Turkey. Making evocative use of snow, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan conveys both the isolation and the alienation of Ozdemir's disillusioned Istanbul photographer and Toprak's optimistically indolent country cousin. Indeed, his emphasis on their inability to communicate is reinforced by his studied pacing and mastery of environment, which recall both Michelangelo Antonioni and Theo Angelopoulos. This isn't an easy film, but it's an impeccably controlled and deeply moving one.
Plot Summary
A photographer living in Istanbul slips into a mid-life crisis when his wife leaves him. However, he is shaken out of his misery by a visit from his eccentric, penniless cousin who has come to the city seeking new employment to support his ailing mother. Drama, starring Muzaffer Ozdemir and Emin Toprak. In Turkish.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Mahmut
- Muzaffer Ozdemir
- Yusuf
- Mehmet Emin Toprak
- Nazan
- Zuhal Gencer Erkaya
- Lover
- Nazan Kirilmis
- Janitor
- Feridun Koc
- Mother
- Fatma Ceylan
- Young girl
- Ebru Ceylan
Crew
- Director
- Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Share this episode
-