|
Toronto
Sun Turkish
film Distant examines pain of two lost souls
In terms of pure cinema, however,
this melancholic story is a haunting meditation on life's disappointments
and the emotional chasm that that creates between people. Distant -- or Uzak -- plays
in Turkish with English subtitles. So little is actually spoken on screen
that even those uncomfortable with subtitles will not find them awkward. However, if you want your cinema
to be action-filled or story-driven or wrapped up nicely with a morality
twist at the end, then Distant may leave you cold. I do not want my appreciation
for filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan's effort to fall into the wrong minds.
Distant is strictly for fans of austere European cinema, especially the
work of Russian Andrei Tarkovsky, who is mentioned in the film as a role
model for one of the characters. The two protagonists are cousins
from a small village that has now been crippled by Turkey's economic crisis. One man (Muzaffer Ozdemir)
is a photographer with a successful career in Istanbul. But he is deeply
unhappy. Now middle-aged, divorced and lonely, he pines for his former
wife, watches dreary porno and occasionally indulges in silent sex with
an unnamed woman. His artistic life is similarly paralyzed because he
never became a filmmaker like Tarkovsky. His younger cousin (Mehmet
Emin Toprak) suddenly shows up to move in, temporarily. Now unemployed,
he is looking for a job on a cruise ship. Diffident and none too bright,
he also annoys his neat-freak cousin with his slovenly habits. The film subtly chronicles
the nature of the "distance" between these two as individuals,
between them and the other people in their lives, between them and strangers
in their neighbourhood, and between them and their country. They are essentially
lost souls with little hope of resolving their problems and washing away
their bitterness. Remarkably,
because Distant sounds dreary, Ceylan manages to invigorate this scenario
with a tempered beauty that keeps the viewer entranced. He is a true auteur
filmmaker, having produced, written, directed, photographed and edited
the film. His characters are fully realized. His images of a harsh winter
are striking. His aesthetic is uncompromised. If conventional fare is
leaving you out of the loop, then Ceylan's Distant may be a bittersweet
cinematic salve.
|
