Distant
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Movie Reviews of Distant
Movie Review: Visually very powerful and artistic with a strong theme but could use an emotional Turkish soundtrack!
Summary: 4 Stars
I watched the DVD Distant about 4 years after it was released in 2002. Let me say upfront that I am not an admirer of European or Turkish cinema at all. In fact, I had previously been disappointed with many European or Turkish productions to the degree that I almost quit watching them.
To my surprise, I did find a lot to watch and enjoy in the movie Distant. The photographic visuals are suberb due to the director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who is a long-time photographer. Minimalist natural lighting actually augments the theme of loneliness and the minimal communication among the lead actors. Powerful visuals are definitely among the top strengths of this movie. Emotional power is another one.
I particularly enjoyed watching two of the special features in the DVD, behind-the-scenes footage and interview with the director. Plot Synopsis at Amazon here states that the director employed his relatives as amateur actors for this movie. In my opinion, you can witness the lack of self-confidence of the character named Yusuf when you see behind-the-scenes footage, in which the director literally spoon-feeds the exact details of his role under the snow in Istanbul.
I did not enjoy the no-script theatrical trailer among the special features. It gives you no clues about the movie at all. It might serve well as a trailer for a slide show but it really falls short of the expectations from a theatrical trailer for a drama. If you were to see the theatrical trailer before you watch the movie, you would probably wonder "What is this movie about?" It should have been accompanied with a voiceover as in Hollywood theatrical trailers.
I believe the movie Distant really lacks a soundtrack to make a punch. Silent passages in the movie are abundant, and they could surely make use of an emotional Turkish soundtrack to support the theme of the movie. The country of Turkey happens to be quite rich in the amount of emotional music. All in all, this movie is a feast for the eyes and the heart but not so fulfilling in terms of sound.
Movie Review: City mouse, country mouse . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
This languid, elliptical film set in Istanbul is a fascinating study of urban isolation, as a divorced, middle-age photographer reluctantly takes in a younger man from the country, who is looking for work. Not so much an odd couple, because they are two of a kind, they manage to grate on each other, a fact that comes across mostly in long silences until there is a final outburst between them. Sympathetic first with the older man, when his temporary house guest does little to take responsibility for himself, we unexpectedly shift our allegiance to the other man when a silver pocket watch disappears.
Working with a small crew and more than a little under the influence of Chekhov, the writer-director walks the fine line between comedy and melodrama, letting the simple premise of the film unfold slowly, relishing its many moments without hurrying toward a resolution of the building conflict. Time passes, and no one changes. Meanwhile the cinematography (both interiors and exteriors) is striking, particularly as one sequence plays out in a day of heavy snowfall. The DVD includes a cinema-verite-style making-of featurette and a lengthy and illuminating interview the director.
Movie Review: lost and alone in turkey
Summary: 4 Stars
Mahmut is a man in mid-life who has lost all joy and passion for life. He is a professional photographer who insists to his friends that "photography is dead." He watches television for endless hours in his dark apartment, frequents bars and restaurants alone, worries about his mother who is hospitalized, chain smokes, and badly misses his former wife Nazan who is emigrating to Canada with her new husband. Then his relative Yusuf shows up on his doorstep in Istanbul, unemployed and unemployable. Yusuf upsets all of Mahmut's petty habits and routines, leaving lights on, smoking in the wrong rooms, not flushing, littering beer cans, and the like. The film explores the palpable loneliness and lostness of these two men, and how they interact. Truly, they are "distant" from any meaningful friendship with each other, the world, or even their own selves. In Turkish with English subtitles.Movie Review: Lyrical and understated
Summary: 4 Stars
A slice of contemporary Turkish life, done in an understated, finely paced manner. The old story of a country boy trying his luck in a big city and who instead of work and love, finds about who he is and what a selfish, alienated prick of a cousin he's got. The film is lyrical without unneccesary embellishments. It has a quiet, upbeat quality that sort of insinuates itself into one's thoughts and feelings.Movie Review: Shades of Tarkovsky
Summary: 4 Stars
This isn't a film for everyone. If you're a fan of Tarkovsky's films and other existential films, you'll most likely appreciate what "Distant" has to offer. The message of detachment and depersonalizaton in an ever-evolving world is subtlely obvious. Long shots and sparse dialogue dominate and, as such, convey the film's powerful theme. Recommended.