This is a truly great film. I have watched it three times over the last 10 days and each viewing reveals more subtlety. Set largely in the steppes of Turkey over one long night, as a group of men search for a dead body, its based on real story known to one of he screenplay’s co-writers, who was a doctor in the area where the film is set.
Why is it so good. The landscape is a major player and the cinematography is brilliant and original, both the colours and the framing. It is shot in Cinemascope which gives it a really widescreen feel.
The story itself is as rich as a good novel. The main storyline is accompanied by at least four others that interweave. The director pulls off this trick in several occasions of showing you something whilst the actual dialogue is happening somewhere else.
Like the long opening segment of ‘No Country for Old Men’ - the Coen Brothers best film to date - there is virtually no music which means that the film has incredible intensity and focus. The actors are superb and believable with no false notes.
At more than 2 1/2 hours, this is a gripping ride with real depth. A truly great film - a tribute to its director Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
Official film site: www.nbcfilm.com/anatolia/anatolia.php?mid=1
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