Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

One of Middle East’s most distinctive directors won the Grand Prix in Cannes this year. With this hypnotic and haunting masterpiece, Nuri Bilge Ceylan has made a film that lingers in the viewer's memory for a long time. Two men are driven out to the Turkish plains with a policeman and a prosecutor. They have committed a murder and have to find the body. Unfortunately, it is easy to get lost in those giant plains and mountain chains. Time passes as the weary group searches for the burial site.

This simple, silent story comes to life by the unique aesthetic style of director Ceylan. Through a cinematic stream of consciousness and a polished dialogue he brings depth to the characters, without unnecessary explanations. Every line of dialogue serves its purpose and revels piece by piece the complex relations between the men. The film is a typical Ceylan work, made on a small budget, shot with natural lighting and with amateur actors. Ceylan’s past as a photographer is clear in the quiet, lingering takes. He uses intense close-ups to capture the inner feelings of the characters. At the same time the eerie beauty of the Anatolian plains and mountains streams forth and creates a movie that never lets go of you. dgr