Iklimler

Ceylan's previous feature, Distant, won the Grand Prix at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival; its glowing reception cemented his status as a major contemporary auteur. In Climates, Ceylan takes us to stunning locations all across Turkey in what may be his most personal film to date - in addition to directing and starring, he also wrote and edited. Filmed with his signature contemplative style, it is a highly subdued, deliberately-paced work that conveys more through silence than through exposition. The cinematography by Gökhan Tiryaki achieves a new high for high-definition video with its refined, poetic images, while Ceylan's precise, beautiful compositions give the film a characteristically elegiac tone. This achingly poignant film subtly captures the emotional tremors that ripple through a fallow relationship.

We have recently heard about too much about Iklimler. There were mix of comments about the movie and Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Half of them were negative, half of them were positive. There must be confusion in evaluating his movies. Then I went to the movie to see by myself.

At first sight Iklimler has absent story. The movie began from uncertain situation and goes on through uncertain path. Writer and director should have been separated with each other in order to give double power to the movie. Nuri Bilge Ceylan can be successful director, but he is not a writer as good as his directing talent.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan wanted to show us how to make a movie with simple story –even no story. The players are ordinary, music's are ordinary, but the movie itself is really artistic. He was focusing to the eyes effectively and eyes showed us emotions powerfully.

Natural voices were used in the movie and this technique should have been very difficult if we take into consideration open field's scenery. The conditions are not totally controllable in this kind of areas. This voice preference shows us Nuri Bilge's self confidence.

We can not criticize players well because they were seen in backgrounds. The movie itself depended on artistic scenes too much, not on players. Even though Nazan Kirilmis and Ebru Ceylan were good enough. Nuri Bilge himself is not talented as his directing skill. Nuri Bilge was known with misery. But after his playing it seems he will lose this misery. Other players were too naive and not suitable for the movie.

Panoramas were excellent. From the beginning Antalya-Kas, goes on with Istanbul-Beyoglu and finally Agri- Ishak Pahsa Palace. The winter season reflected with a hundred percent reality and beauty.

When we look at the overall Nuri Bilge made ego satisfaction in all writing, directing and playing dimensions. In directing dimension it is true that he is probably the best director in Turkey. Other dimensions were not sufficient to make the movie perfect. However, Nuri Bilge Ceylan did well with Iklimler for Turkish Cinema.

Without giving away any detail, from the plot of the movie, I can declare to cinema goers that this film is one to seek and watch. The film is very intelligently directed, and the acting is superb.

Not since 'Gegen Die Wand' has Turkish cinema shown it self capable of delivering such a movie.

The acting is also significant, and the way the lead actors portray the indifference and backdrops in middle-class Turkish society is subliminal.

I recommend this movie to anyone who has a keen appetite for European/Turkish cinema.

Bravo.

A director-as an artist-may choose to tell his story by using different parameters i.e.eloquent treatment of dialogue,scenery,costumes,soundtrack and sometimes visual effects. Another may yet choose to tell his/her story using spare plot,minimal dialogue,long still shoots and creative atmosphere.

Three-time Cannes winner director,actor,photographer Nuri Bilge Ceylan follows the second path...

*Spoiler*

A sequel to Uzak,Iklimler,very simply is about a middle-aged academic still writing his thesis and his younger wife(director himself and his real-life wife Ebru Ceylan)who pass through the seasons in their marriage.As the story moves on-from summer to fall then to winter-we see the scenery and locations change in parallel with their inner conflicts.The couple cannot reconcile; separation and break-up is unavoidable at the end.

*Spoiler

Ceylan,with almost a Tarkovskian approach tells his story in the manner of a true auteur he is.

I saw climates yesterday at the NY film festival.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a director who uses himself or his relatives to act in his own movies. In Climates he(Nuri Bilge Ceylan) and his real life wife (Ebru Ceylan) are the main characters and his mother and father are his real life parents as well. In his role, he is a professor at a university and his wife is in visual arts. During their trip in Kas which is a very hot place located in southern Turkey these two fall out and their conversations almost come to an end in this hot climate.This not sharing much leads up to the husband asking for their separation.As they got back the regret the husband feels takes him to find his wife with a crew she was working with in the beautiful but very cold and snowy city of Agri located in Eastern Turkey.The climate changes and so does their minds..

This movie is more of analyzing the relationships between people. His success comes from how he could reflect the depth of his characters and their emotions and minds with very little conversation.Nuri Bilge Ceylan's style is based on a strong plot. He focuses more on human relations with very little happening around them but more importantly what is happening inside of them and between them. I enjoyed every second of the movie with curiosity.I recommend this movie highly.