Ovo

I liked Semih Kaplanoglu's last film "Melegin Dususu" which had a really great performance by Tulin Ozen. However, his latest film "Yumurta" goes absolutely nowhere.

Nejat Isler is a very charismatic actor who can command the screen as we have seen in "Barda", but in this film he is given little to do other than stare into space. There is very little dialog and even that is stilted and boring. This can't hold a candle to the greatness of last year's Golden Orange winner "Kader". There are few redeeming qualities about the film, namely the cinematography and soundtrack. Otherwise this is a real letdown.

Being a film school graduate sometimes blinds my perception. i try to shut the negative part of my brain. but if the first 10 minutes is empty i start catching the bad. Even though the opening scene was a hint of a bad movie I forced my self to finish Yumurta. the second scene in the bookshop was a mystery. i guess there was a story. but the long shots are so boring you get disconected. i read the synopsis after watching it. Even then the movie didn't make any sense. you cant expect us to understand you story if you don't tell it. It looked like there was no script just minutes of still photos. So, don't waste your time with this one. Don't let the awards trick you. This is part of a trilogy. the next one is Sut (Milk). i haven't seen it yet but i heard it tops this one.

it is of course a bit boring because it is a psychedelic kind of film and it is so contemporary..nowadays these kinda movies are a lot, not in Turkey but in everywhere around Europe.. I hate psychedelic movies and cant even watch but this movie had something and it kept me going. Cinematography was good for an independent film. İt was a very low budget film so I think before making any comment , should consider these kinda points. Shouldn't have a point of view before watching the other 2 movies which complete yumurta ,as a series movies I thing the other ones will be so much more meaningful because this one was about death..the darkest theme the darkest topic. one of the other ones topic is birth so..

Actually the movie is in a natural life perspective. I'm sure that the movie inspired Manchester By The Sea because it was produced in 2007. The starring man Nejat Isler is one of the best sample of Turkish act and definitely he would win an Oscar only he were an American.

It's interesting to read comments made on YUMURTA (EGG) in isolation from the other two films in the trilogy, SÜT (2009) and BAL (2010). Although the first-released of the three, YUMURTA is temporally the last, telling of the adolescent Yusuf (Nejat İsler), who has been reduced to becoming a secondhand bookseller in İstanbul. Whereas once he had a promising career as a writer (alluded to in SÜT and referred to again in YUMURTA), he has neither enjoyed the luck nor the inspiration to pursue his chosen career. Hence he becomes vicariously involved with literature by purveying it.

Yusuf's life receives a sudden jolt when he learns of the death of his mother Zehra (Semra Kaplanoğlu). He returns to his childhood home of Tire in the west of Turkey, and experiences ambivalent feelings about the return. In the past he had always vowed to leave, but once he encounters Ayla (Saadet Aksoy), the teenage daughter of his uncle, Yusuf begins to feel more ambivalent about himself and his position in life. The ending represents a complete volte-face from the beginning; Yusuf might not necessarily be happy in the future, but he has acted according to his inclinations, something that he had abandoned during his move to İstanbul.

Kaplanoğlu's film incorporates several striking images, notably the sight of Zehra moving towards and away from a static camera, suggesting an engagement with and a deliberate flight from life. There are frequent shots where the protagonists are viewed as specks on the vast rural landscape, drawing our attention to their insignificance in the overall scheme of things. If this is the case, then we should try to make the best of what we have, rather than trying to pursue unfocused dreams.

YUMURTA also makes a lot of rituals and their significance: despite his obvious squeamishness, Yusuf has to observe Zehra's dying wish of sacrificing a ram to God, if only to acknowledge the extent of divine power. The egg is also important: when Yusuf cracks one open early on in the film, nature reacts in an unexpected way. However, once he has learned to come to terms with his world, he understands the connection between the egg and life; it is something to be treasured, not broken.

Beautifully photographed and structured with a deep connection to the environment, YUMURTA offers a satisfying and powerful coda to Kaplanoğlu's trilogy.