Les herbes sèches

Once again, N. B. Ceylan has presented a magnificent gift to his audience and all cinema-lovers.

Ceylan, successfully following some essential footsteps of his former movies "Winter Sleep" and "The Wild Peer Tree", portraits the crises of restricted lives of (dazzlingly perfomed) characters feeling stuck in a provincial region of Turkey. It is even possible to call these movies a trilogy on masculinity, conflicts of intellectual class, "banality of evil" (as Hannah Arendt calls) and anti-heroes stuck in provincial stability, seeking for so-called "a better life elsewhere."

Regarding the visual narration of the movie, it is obvious that Ceylan has embraced a number of innovation on designing the visual aspects of the story; moving cameras, short-cuts for dialogue scenes etc. Nevertheless, the movie also preserves the beauty of Ceylan's well-known photographic cinema language.

Still, "Onca Upon A Time in Anatolia", among the works of N. B. Ceylan, is a cinematic top to me. And surely it is an extemely high bar for not only Turkish cinema. In this context, it may be asserted that "About Dry Grasses" could have easily been called a masterpiece if it belonged to any other director.

It's a character drama about truth and lies in modern times in rural Eastern Turkey during a harsh winter. It follows various teachers who are required to work in a remote area before transferring to more desirable urban locations. Samet (Deniz Celiloglu) is a fourth-year art teacher in primary school who can't wait to transfer out. His friend, Kenan (Musab Ekici), is his housemate and a fellow teacher. Samet seems to be popular with his students, especially Sevim (Ece Bagci), an attractive grade-eight student to whom he has given presents. Initially, we learn of the rigidity and bureaucratic nature of the educational system through Samet's interactions with his superintendent, Bekir (Onur Berk Arslanoglu) and the Director of Education (Yildirim Gucuk).

One day, the school administration confiscates a love letter that Sevim has written, and Samet comes into possession of it, though he claims to Sevim that he has destroyed it. Her distrustful reaction creates difficulties both for Samet and Kenan.

A distraction for Samet and Kenan is Nuray (Merve Disdar), a female teacher at a nearby school who lost a leg in a terrorist bombing some years before. Samet and Kenan are interested in Nuray, though both are devious in their procedures. Throughout, there are lengthy conversations about how to make the most impact on the world, with the apparent options being risking action or sitting back and observing with a cynical eye.

The Roger Ebert reviewer called "About Dry Grasses" "steadily paced, richly intellectual, and absorbingly acted." I found it pretentious, at least an hour too long at three hours and twenty minutes, and trapped in too many plot ambitions. Celiloglu, Bagci, and Disdar perform very well, though one conversation between Samet and Nuray is interminable. I suspect the subtitle translation is not the best; some Turkish speakers in the audience, when I watched, heard humorous references not reflected in the subtitles.

An absolute masterpiece! I'm tempted to give it five stars, but I'll determine that upon rewatch. About Dry Grasses is a powerful, albeit quiet tale that explores the pursuit of meaning and the lack of control in life, told from the singular lens of a bored and self-absorbed man trapped in a teaching position. In its bloated three-hour runtime, Ceylan seems to simulate the monotonous quality of rural life and brings an authentic personality and candidness to the characters by means such as using minimal music, featuring prolonged scenes, etc. Some might consider this relentless realism as boring, but the script isn't short of emotionally riveting moments and has a slight wittiness and humorousness in the dialogue that makes it very entertaining to sit through. Obviously, all the performances are tremendous and the beautiful cinematography highlights the alienation and oppression that characters must feel. Especially with Deniz Celiloglu, who threads a fine line between angst and friendliness yet always earns the audience's empathy despite his questionable behaviour. More than a mere narrative, About Dry Grasses serves as a profound character study, beckoning us into Samet's psyche, while simultaneously encouraging us to critique him. Ultimately, About Dry Grasses works as a film about the fragility of friendship, the perils of narcissism and serves as a cautionary tale on not letting our human nature detract from our appreciation of life. This is definitely one of the best films of 2023 that I've watched so far, and also one of the most underrated.

A 3.5 hour visual feast. Like Nuri Bilge Ceylan's previous films, this film, although quite long, contains plenty of dialogue that is not boring. Although the action part takes place in the countryside, there are visually fairy-tale environments. However, life is not easy at all in this deserted geography of Anatolia. The film greets the audience with snowy landscapes. In the beginning, we follow teacher Samet. Samet proceeds on the road surrounded by a white and endless horizon in the snow. This powerful scene provides clear clues about the film.

From the first moments of the film, director NBC establishes a fascinating and desolate atmosphere. It repeatedly tells us (as in the movie Winter Sleep) that loneliness is not only a result of external conditions, but also the result of our own emotional moves and selfish attitudes. Master cinematographer Gökhan Tiryaki did not take part in this movie, but the movie is still very successful. Cold colors and gray tones convey the isolation and depression of the characters in a balanced way. It allows us to feel the coldness on the characters' faces and the warmth of a glass of tea.

The deep scenario forces you to consider fundamental issues of the human condition in the context of good and evil, individualism and collectivism. NBC shows us that these dilemmas exist in all societies and force us to question our own beliefs and behaviors.

Again a Masterpiece!

(But USA's Oscars and the Golden Globe will again ignore the master director.)

While watching the movie "About Dry Grasses," I didn't realize how quickly the 3 hours and 17 minutes passed. Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films seem to peel off humans layer by layer. They present the weakest, darkest aspects of humanity to the audience. While watching the movie and after it, you find yourself in a confrontation with yourself. The situation is the same in this film. The lead actors, Deniz Celiloglu (Samet), Merve Dizdar (Nuray), and Musab Ekici (Kenan) deliver a wonderful performance. Indeed, Merve Dizdar won the award for best actress at Cannes for this film.

The film revolves around a teacher, Samet, whose career is endangered by a sexual abuse accusation from his student, Sevim. Samet, portrayed by Deniz Celiloglu, is a complex character who is bored with his life and longs for a posting to Istanbul. His interactions with his fellow teacher Kenan and a woman named Nuray play a significant role in exploring themes of friendship, competition, and disillusionment. The characters are depicted with a high degree of complexity, adding depth to the overall narrative and theme of the film. The long duration of the film allows for an in-depth exploration of the characters, making it a reflective journey among the complexities of human relationships and moral dilemmas.

"About Dry Grasses" is a thought-provoking and absorbing drama that delves into the depths of the human soul, exploring the moral complexities and multifaceted nature of human relationships. Nuri Bilge Ceylan's distinctive directing style and the impressive performances of the cast create a cinematic masterpiece that is enlightening both visually and intellectually. The comprehensive and detailed narration of the film, combined with its literary quality, makes it a must-watch for lovers of auteur cinema.