Sociable Movie Guy
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A Dialogue-Driven Drama About Life ComplexitiesIt’s been too long since the last time I posted something to this beautiful baby of mine. I know no excuses would make up for my abandonment. But still, I apologize for postponing this particular post that should have been done weeks ago. Let’s move on to the review, shall we? ‘Winter Sleep’, or originally titled ‘Kis Uykusu’, is a Turkish film which won Palme D’or, the most prestigious award in this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film is directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who is no stranger in the festival. He previously won the Grand Prix (the second-honor award in Cannes) twice for his ‘Uzak’ (2002) and ‘Once Upon A Time in Anatolia’ (2011) and snagged a directing prize for his ‘Three Monkeys’ (2008). ‘Winter Sleep’ tells the story of Aydin (Haluk Bilginer), a former actor who owns a small hotel in Anatolia. He’s also the landlord for some of the properties around his hotel. One day, he deals with one of his tenant who is apparently having a hard time to pay the rent. While solving that problem (which eventually snowballs into something larger), he must also face his estranged relationship with his equally estranged wife Nihal (Melisa Sozen). And it doesn’t stop there. The hotel occupant includes his recently-divorced sister Necla (Demet Akbag) and he too, must face endless and somewhat tiring arguments with his sister who apparently has very exciting views in life. The title of this review says it all. This 3++ hours film is literally driven by tons of dialogue from the characters involved in the story. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the film is dead boring. The result is totally the opposite. Ceylan successfully crafts his film into something very compelling. All of the lines thrown by the characters are magnetic and witty. The topics are so varied I can’t even spill each of them (ahem, this might also works as my justification to the fact that I actually forget the details of what they are talking about in the film). The performances also make this film worth to watch. Of all the fine performances, my favorite goes to Serhat Mustafa Killic who plays Hamdi, the local Imam who is also a family member of the aforementioned tenant. He plays a man trying to save his family so effortlessly good. The way he reluctantly begs Aydin, his forced smile, and his gesture are all on point. I must admit that ‘Winter Sleep’ is not a film for everyone due to its weighty content and challenging duration. But the film is actually enjoyable once we can open our mind a little bit. So, open and relax your mind then join the ride that Ceylan has prepared for us!
Score : 4/5 Note : once again thanks to Jiffest for bringing this film to town. Can’t wait to see what you guys will bring next year!
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AuthorA self-acclaimed movie guy who likes to socialize |