Snow and the Bear

A 2022 drama film starring Merve Dizdar and Saygin Soysal, whose script was written by Yesim Aslan and Selcen Ergun...

With her first feature film, after his short films "Gunesli Bir Gun" and "Karsilasma" Ergun takes a busy and big job, but he manages it successfully.

She does not take refuge in the unwritten rule of 'the first film has no sin' and presents his screenplay to the audience in the desired consistency, with both sound design and cinematography.

Yes, if you want to force it critically, you can find the deficiencies, but at the end of the day, when the last credits start to flow, Ergun tells you his problem...

The production, which will meet with the festival audience in Ankara after Antalya and Istanbul, will hopefully be the first of many films that Ergun will shoot.

The professionalism she showed during the Bosphorus Film Festival and the fact that he did not remain silent in the face of fascists is an indication that we will see Ergun's name among names such as Pelin Esmer and Yesim Ustaoglu in the future.

A bear, awakened early from hibernation and hungry, stalks the snow-covered forest of a remote and tiny mountain town. At the same time a young nurse, Asli, arrives in the village to start a new life. There is a man in her way at every turn. Three men figure prominently on the list of the most threatening to her independence. Hasan is the conservative town drunk who hates bears almost as much as he hates women. Samet, a kind mountain man and protector of wildlife, is Hasan's opposite. However, in his obsession with Asli he might be the more dangerous of the two men. The third main male obstacle in Asli's life is her father who doubts and seeks to control her from afar. Asli tries to find her own path through the woods full of dangerous beasts, human and animal.

Cut down the sacred tree and spirit of nature, states a Turkish legend, and nature will have its revenge somehow. In this ancient story it is a bear that becomes the agent of vengeance. The bear is what the villagers fear most. Yet there is a wild animal inside each person's heart which is something more potent and formidable.

Director Selcen Ergun's debut feature provides compelling and moving messages about human attempts to control nature, romance, wildlife, and women. "It is how I feel as a woman in the world," Ergun said at the film's world premiere in Toronto. A woman attempting to find her way in a misogynistic world, where even kindhearted and well-meaning men might lead women astray from being who they are. Ambient sounds of wind and crackling fires combine with stirring, sparse music. The ending is profoundly emotional and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Ergun meditates on a time when the winter will cease and the world will just let women and nature be.

First of all, Artvin, where the movie was shot, is like heaven on earth. In addition, seeing this world wonder once again in the snow allowed me to visit this white paradise again.

Selcen Ergun, which we know from the "Karsilasma (2007)", "Hayat Var(2008-as a Assistant Director)", "Günesli Bir Gün(2011) movies, comes up with an interesting story after a long 11-year hiatus. Merve Dizdar, Saygin Soysal, Asiye Dinçsoy are among the names who that helped Ergun.

A young nurse, who is sent to a far cornet of the country, finds herself in human relations with full of secrets.

This beautiful-compelling movie also took award from the Golden Orange Awards. What Ergun said in the award speech is kind of a light to everyone: "Do not listen to others who said that you can not make it, just stand on your way!"

Snow And The Bear is definitely an adult mystery and more of an art film than a run of the mill drama.

It is beautifully shot and has the lonely and cold atmosphere of a snowey mountain range in the middle of nowwhere which perfectly compliments the solemn story that unfolds.

Its ultimately a mystery about the culture of people living outside of modern civilisation and how an outsider comes to know a different type of existence that is more elemental and closer to nature.

This is a film about lonliness, the wilderness, and how human beings relate to and impact the natural world.

It is also a melancholic tale of self discovery.

It is a well paced, finely told mystery drama. It's in Turkish with subtitles, but I didn't mind that. Personally I enjoyed this film and I hope you will too. :-)

A beautifully haunting film that blends atmospheric mystery with subtle social commentary against an ecological backdrop. Set in a remote, snow-covered Turkish town, the film captures the quiet tension of isolation through stunning cinematography and a slow-burning narrative. Merve Dizdar shines as Asli, a young nurse whose arrival stirs hidden fears and suspicions within the community. Ergun's restrained direction allows the story to unfold with poetic stillness, revealing how fear and tradition can blur the line between myth and reality. It's a quietly powerful film that lingers long after the snow has settled.