A CRIME DRAMA WITH A TWIST: "ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA"

I have, I am pretty sure, written about Nuri Bilg Ceylan before. I have said, if I recall that his art is very much an acquired taste. Back in the day, I hated his films; they seemed to me rather pretentious, without much content, just one of those films that perhaps win so many awards because people cannot really understand what’s going on and thus assume whatever it is, is deep. The thing is, what is going on IS deep. It is just not immediately obvious to the untrained eye. The same goes for all brands of minimalist cinema. It’s a bit like plunging straight into Goethe’s Faust the moment you learn German. However, once you have acquired said taste this film is definitely the one for you. Or even if you just want to try something a little different. I have seen quite a few of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s films – if not all of them – and I personally feel that this is his best film yet… Our setting is a small town in the middle of central Anatolia. The steppes stretching out seemingly endlessly look very much like one another, life is tough and the men living there are even tougher. Two cars are driving through a dark, unlit night. But nothing two shifty is afoot. Two men, brothers, have been convicted of murder. The older brother – seemingly more intelligent than his rather “slow” younger brother anyway – has confessed to the murder, all this is fine but there is one small problem. They seem to be unable to locate the body. The suspect claims he buried it somewhere out of town so the police chief, the coroner, the prosecuter (increasingly irritated by the whole affair dragging on so late) the gendarmes and the suspects are rattling on through the night trying to make sense of the older brother’s rather vague description of where the body was buried. “I had had a bit to drink” he mutters apologetically. This is not so much a murder mystery - or rather not the kind of murder mystery you think it is, but I’ll let you discover that as you watch the film – but an occasion to take a closer look at the hearts of men, life in small towns and how very ordinary people cope with extraordinary things that happen in their lives. These lives are not exactly populated with extraordinary happenings, thus the coping mechanisms developed can be… Well you’re going to have to watch and see. First of all, rest assured, there is nothing neither gory nor sinister and supernatural about this film. Well, nothing more sinister than the contents of the human soul and that, I have to agree, can be pretty bad at times. The poignancy with which Ceylan paints emotions and the unexpected places and contexts in which these emotions emerge in all their glory is quite amazing. Of course this poignancy is partly due to Ceylan’s own experience, he himself is a small town boy, the son of a government official so I assume this coupled with his powers of observation warrant largely for poignancy of the film. And something simply has to be said about the cinematography. Ceylan was originally more interested in taking photographs and this is very, very obvious from the beauty of some of the scenes and the framing. There are haunted, beautiful portraits of Anatolia dotted among this very human tragedy. The secret of watching and enjoying this film is to not get stuck on the whole murder thing. Of course the murder (or murders, but like I said I don’t want to give too many details on that one) are important but they are far from being the main thing. Focus on what is going on around them, the characters, their reactions, the mood created. If you do, a whole different film is going to emerge for you, and you will be able to follow the “real” story as it were. I concede that it is slightly hard going, almost 2 and a half hours long and in Turkish but I sincerely hope you give it a spin. There really was a reason for it winning the Grand Prix at Cannes…

A FILM OF TWISTS : "BAD GUY"

I seem to be all about famous auteurs with questionable reputations these days. Kim ki-duk is, without a doubt one of them. Then again we can say the same thing about South Korean cinema in general. Korean cinema tends to be something you either like or you don’t I find. Then again, it’s my personal opinion that if you can get used to the idea of doing things a little bit differently, Korean cinema can be your friend. One has to be open to have one’s preconceptions challenged though. Even more so if you are going for a director like Kim ki-duk. Bad guy is the story of… Well seemingly what is a very bad guy indeed. Han is seemingly mute, although his toughness and fighting skills makes him a feared and revered figure in Seoul’s red light district. He and his two friends help run and “protect” a particular brothel in this region. One day, as he saunters through the park, Sun, a twenty one year old, beautiful student catches his eye. The thing is, he doesn’t just think she’s sexy, he actually falls in love with her. In a stage managed robbery gone-wrong,Sun is forced to start work in the brothel Han helps manage. Adaptation his hard, Sun refuses to accept her fate at first; but then as time goes by, she slowly begins to adapt to her new life. The question is however, will she adapt enough to actually fall in love with Han ? Now, if you watch a few of Kim ki-duk’s films, you cannot, in my opinion, avoid noticing that there are a few tropes that he loves using over and over again. And one of them is definitely the “Stockholm Syndrome” that we also see here. In many films, the characters are kept, often as not from birth, in isolated conditions, away from the world (Think of The Bow or Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring). At some point they start fighting against the conditions they’re in. Then they accept them. And in fact they reach the point where they grow to love and defend these conditions. I’m not saying that the conditions are always necessarily as “bizarre” (for lack of a better word) as Bad Guy (or The Bow) but still. When you get over how disturbing the whole thing actually is, it is interesting to consider the body’s defense mechanisms under these circumstances. Ki-duk actually unites this, in quite a few of his films, with the concept of fate. It is as if the acceptance of the characters is more or less due to the fact that this is the way things were meant to be. This was what was meant to happen all along. It goes as far as throwing a bit of the supernatural into the mix (and often when we expect it the very least). And, again as often as not, the endings are happy. Or can be considered happy. I mean, I found the end of Bad guy profoundly disturbing, but hey, the characters seem quite happy… Bad guy and Kim Ki-duk in particular, will definitely give you something to think about. I strongly suggest you give it a go, if only for the sake of having a different experience.

A THRILLER WITH A TWIST : "THE CAT VANISHES"

Carlos Sorin has always been a director I have greatly admired. I loved the subtle humor and emotion in his Argentina trilogy. I was therefore incredibly excited to see that his latest film, The Cat Vanishes would be gracing the big screen during the Istanbul film festival. I hadn’t seen that much by Sorin to be honest, but I had really enjoyed every single thing I had seen. I was therefore pleasantly surprised – but maybe not so surprised as all that – to find out that Sorin is a master of suspense and thrillers, just as he is when it comes to more day to day emotions… Luigi, a middle-aged university lecturer, has just had a psychotic break with reality, which has meant he has been in a mental institute for a number of months. But now, thankfully, all is well again, and his doctors deem him fit for the outside world once again. His extreme jealousy and possessiveness when it comes to his work and his paranoia and animosity concerning his former assistant seem to have subsided. Thus, his wife of a number of years, Betty, comes to pick him up, excited and in hope that they can start their life together from where it broke off so abruptly. But the thing is, there is something… Not quite right about Luigi. Betty simply cannot put her finger on it, on the surface he is just as he was and everyone, their children, neighbors and Luigi’s former students are all adamant that he looks fine, that she is rightly nervous due to the unpleasant events of a few months back. The only “person” who seems to agree with her seems to be the family cat Donatello, who refuses point blank to even go near Luigi, hissing and spitting, even scratching him when Luigi attempts anything. It is when, a few days after Luigi’s arrival, Donatello vanishes that Betty begins to worry. And not only about Donatello’s wellbeing, her own as well… But is she right to do so?... What I loved about this film is the way the suspense and the humor had been mixed. Sorin keeps his audience guessing about the nature of the film right to the end. What is going on in Luigi’s head? Is he really cured? Or is Betty the problem? Has she been so traumatized that she is now imagining this, projecting her worries onto her innocent husband? Speaking of innocence, what has happened to the cat? I mean, it’s just a cat, surely he’ll turn up… Coincidences do happen… Just sit back and relax, it isn’t until the last minutes of the film that Sorin reveals what the real story is all about. Until then we zig-zag between horror, suspense and comedy of errors, our decision changing almost every fifteen minutes with each new plot-twist. And the brilliant thing is that all these little plot-twists are conveyed without resolving to anything “big” as it were. All this psychology and suspense is very neatly and cleverly meshed into the couple’s day to day life with such perfect realism that I defy you not to become ever so slightly paranoid about the sanity and intentions of your own family members after watching this… Really exciting and great fun right to the end…

ESSIE SPEAKS OF TRUE STORIES

Hello there! As I write this post I have literally, minutes ago, finished the last lecture of my masters degree. I feel slightly wierd and "end of an era" if you see what I mean and I fully intend to immerse myself in A LOT of films under the pretence of researching stuff for my degree. But life goes on - and so does cinema. And I have for you quite an interesting group of films this week. This week's group might, for example, be considered in the "Oscar nominees" group. You will probably have heard of Brad Pitt's latest feature "Moneyball". And, probably "In Darkness", Agneiszka Holland's extraordinary World War 2 story. But this is not what linked all three. Again, we could have called it "Female Directors Week" (note to self, actually have one of those); two of the most successfull female directors of our time, Agnieszka Holland (as I just mentioned) and Chinese director Ann Hui grace these pages with their work (and make me very proud to be a woman with their success!) but this is not what links them either. What links all three of these incredible, touching stories is that they all really happened. They say "there's nothing as queer as folk"; maybe it should have been "there's nothing as queer as life", eh? I sincerely hope you enjoy these films as much as I did... happy viewing, Essie

A FEELGOOD TRUE STORY : "MONEYBALL"

I am, as I write this entry (though probably not as you read it, if you get what I mean) back in my home country for a well-earned Easter break. Back home for Easter means, as we all pretty much know, spending time with the family and doing all those things we miss doing together. For me and Mom this is, specifically, shopping for DVDs. As we wondered down the aisles of the DVD store, desperately trying to limit our selection Mom actually pounced on this. “Oh look, this was an Oscar® film. And there’s Brad Pitt in it, I like him.” Pretty much a keeper. I silently questioned the wisdom of buying a film about a sport I know categorically nothing about, but the whole point of the exercise was to spend time together so I didn’t go all film theory on her. Thus when we sat down to watch the film, I had literally no expectations from it other than providing an excuse for me and Mom to exchange opinions concerning Brad Pitt. Now, up to a point, I wasn’t that wrong. There were bits of the film I understood categorically nothing about. But I don’t blame the film for that if you see what I mean, for a sports film to be a sports film there has to be a goodly amount of sports in it, I can accept that. The important bit is, however, that there was a large and emotionally engaging bit that I did understand, and here is a summary of that bit: Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. It is not a job to be envied. The team is literally the bottom of the pile with very little in the way of funds and a whole set of scouts and managers whose opinions date from the previous century. The way things are going, the team is pretty much two steps away from being wiped off the map. And things seem pretty much set to go as they always have, that is in everyone’s opinion except Billy’s. Billy is a high-school graduate who has worked on nothing but baseball, but unlike the rest of the managerial team, he can spot a good idea when he sees it. And the good idea comes in the form of 25 year-old Yale graduate Peter Brand. Peter has some pretty interesting ideas as to how he and Billy can turn the Athletics around. If they can get literally everyone else to act on their ideas that is… They will, as we now know, end up changing baseball as we know it… Now what, I hear you ask, differentiates this film from your common or garden “one man against the system” film. Well, in my opinion it’s its realism and honesty. I mean, yes, the film is based on a true story. But you have true stories and true stories right, and then you have padding to make the characters look good. Not so here. Beane’s flaws and his erroneous decisions are openly portrayed here. Pitt gives Beane a certain quiet, yet dogged and determined character, the Beane Pitt portrays is not a man of many words, but once he is on to something he is not going to let go of it, pretty much like a “terrier on a trouser leg”. Then there is the unlikely team they bring together. You cannot help feeling for the guys, I don’t want to give too much of the plot away but hey, they are a minor team with not much money, you can imagine what kind of players they can afford – though mind you, there is a lot of method in their perceived madness. I am so glad that Hollywood, in some cases anyway, can give all we love about Hollywood (a good, uplifting story, big name stars like Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffmann who plays one of the biggest obstacles in Beane’s path) without actually whitewashing the place. If you see what I mean. Like I said, my lack of knowledge concerning baseball was more than a bit of a hindrance, but the producers had obviously thought of that because I could follow the plot even if I didn’t know the intricate technicalities of the matter. So I say go for it. Even if you don’t particularly like baseball. And definitely go for it if you do like it…

IN MEMORIAM - AND "IN DARKNESS"

Yes, I know. Yet another Holocaust film. Now, I’m not dissing the Holocaust or anything commemorating it; but it is true that there are, well, rather a lot of films of the same genre floating around. It is normal considering the great and continuing trauma the horrific event caused in the collective memory of the world, but the profusion of material of the same ilk means that we become “desensitized” if you like to a certain breed of film. This is why I find director Agnieszka Holland particularly successful in this film. Firstly, she has taken an event that has been gone over with a fine-toothed comb and found an amazing true story that is unlike all the rest of the equally unbelievable WW2 stories, and secondly she has been made a film that, despite all the desensitization on the topic, touches one, to the core of one’s soul. In Darkness takes place in that Jewish Ghettos formed by the occupying Nazis in WW2 Lvov. Leopold Socha is a sanitation inspector – which basically means he works in sewers. He doesn’t like the Nazis particularly but is not really moved by the plight of the Jews enough to actually do something in the vein of resistance until runs into a group of escapee Jews in of all places, the sewers. The group comes from the ghettos and they have made a tunnel in an attempt to escape the oppression they live under. This tunnel comes in very handy when the Russian army starts advancing and the Nazis start ransacking the ghettos. A large group of men, women and children escape into the sewers and Leopold agrees to guide them to safety and procure supplies – all for a daily fee of course. Both his wife and his colleague tell him what he is doing is wrong and / or dangerous. But Leopold continues, first purely for economic reasons and then, when the money runs out, out of the goodness of his heart – for he is a kind man for all his bluster. The problem is, the war is evidently coming to an end and desperation is growing in the German camp. Will the little group living In Darkness make it to the end of the war? First of all, let me say this. If you actually make it to the end of this film without crying once, I’m pretty sure you’re made of stone. The darkness of the sewers and the direness of the group’s living conditions, forced to live like rats under the city streets is enough to upset one. But then there is the sheer “reality” of the film and the characters. In this kind of film one finds, to various degrees that the goodies are “saintly” while the baddies are “evil”. Not so here. Leopold is gruff, uneducated and has many faulty. I was quite annoyed by him at the beginning. But as time goes by, it is not so much that he changes that much, but we get to know him. In the same way, the Polish officer – Leopold’s friend – who actually collaborates with the Nazis, is evidently not a bad sort at heart. Leopold’s wife and young colleague / apprentice react very badly at Leopold’s plans at first but they are obviously not really bad people either. The Jews are also very real, with their flaws and their virtues. Thus we are able to thoroughly emphasize with the characters, all the characters, and that simply means an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end. Basically, you are invested in the film from the word go, it’s a real challenge not to be touched by it. I think this is a good thing. After WW2, the world said “never again”, and yet the atrocities keep on coming thick and fast. Getting some emotions involved may be, in the long run, the only way of stopping them…

QUIET CONTEMPLATION AND "A SIMPLE LIFE"

Here once again, we are able to observe the clear difference of the Asian point of view to the Western. In this film we have a quiet, understated, yet beautiful story, told in a quiet, understated and beautiful way. Some might say that there is “no story here”, but one must remember that it is the little things that happen in everyday life that make that big old life of ours worth living, heck, our lives are made up of little things anyway… This is why I quite agree that they should be honored. Ah Tao is an “amah” a nanny and servant. She has been working with the same family for 60 years, she has helped bring up several generations of the same family and thus she is almost part of the family now. The only thing is of course that most of her family has moved from Hong Kong to the United States. She keeps up the family home and looks after Roger who is now a successful television producer. And then one day, old age comes to her as it does to us all and she has a stroke. She lets the family knows that she wants to retire and be placed in an old people’s home. The family respects her decision and Roger, of whom she has taken care for almost all his life, decides to foot the bill. This in itself is a nice gesture but it is only the beginning of a different story. As Ah ?? does her best to adapt to her new surroundings – and all is not as rosy as she may have first imagined – a new relationship has started up between her and Roger. Because although he has the option of leaving her there and getting on with his life, he decides that now the old and faithful servant who was a second mother to him is poorly, it is time for the roles to be reversed and for him to look after her… Like I said, there is no grand story to this film. Or at least it looks as if there isn’t. Yet again, when you think about it, in our days of fast-living and self-serving, acts of kindness and looking out for one another is actually big news. It is also interesting to consider the whole “parental” relationship through this lens. In the film it is clear that Roger’s relationship with his mother is a pretty typical one where they love each other dearly but do not know each other that well and in fact Roger begins to get quite annoyed by the little things she does. When Ah Tao moves out however, he is lost. Firstly because of very basic things, he doesn’t know how to work the washing machine or the oven. But then it is her benign presence, hovering over him, scolding him and keeping him company that he begins to miss. Ah Tao may not be his biological mother, but she has mothered him in every other sense of the word, more so probably than his own mother did – it is quite obvious that the family is well off. Sade bir hayat is a quiet, placid, contemplative film whose slow, sedate pace allows for a lot of rumination on what are in reality complex emotions that are overlooked in day to day life. Well worth taking time out of your busy schedule to think about it.