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| A police investigation is underway in a twilight landscape on this atmospheric poster for Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia |
A police investigator gets called out to the steppes of Anatolia, Turkey, where an arrested man is to point out the place where he killed a local man.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is written by Ebru Ceylan, Ercan Kesal (Three Monkeys/Üç Maymun (2008), both) and great Turkish filmmaker, co-writer/director/co-editor Nuri Bilge Ceylan (The Small Town/Kasaba (1997)).
It is a long and ruminant, ceaselessly downbeat turn with a killing SPOILER that's a live burial, (which the coroner ironically buries in his report.) This doctor teaches during the course of the film the presumptuous investigator a lesson of great personal weight, and in this and other ways Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is a film especially consisting of meetings between men, of facades and power structures, and of small town politics, - more than about the murder as such.
Ceylan shows much promise here, and there are beautifully shot scenes (cinematography by Gökhan Tiryaki (The Wild Pear Tree/Ahlat Agaci (2018))), among them one of an apple's escape down into a stream, and good acting also. Nevertheless it is unclear what the story is supposed to tell us, and I suspect that Once Upon a Time in Anatolia may be more meaningful for locals/Turks than to outsiders.
Related posts:
Nuri Bilge Ceylan: 2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Winter Sleep/Kış Uykusu (2014) - Ceylan's complex, novelistic drama masterpiece
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: 2 mil. $
= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 1 times its cost)
[Once Upon a Time in Anatolia premiered 21 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 157 minutes. The script was reportedly inspired by personal experiences of one of its writers. Shooting took place in Turkey. The film opened #60 to a 10k $ first weekend in 1 theater in North America, where it peaked at #56 and in 6 theaters (different weeks), grossing 152k $ (7.6 % of the total gross). The film's 3 biggest markets were Turkey with 835k $ (41.8 %), where it opened #4 and spent 3 weekends in the top 5, the UK with 424k $ (21.1 %) and Italy with 399k $ (20 %). If made on a 2 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a huge flop. The film won the Grand Prix in Cannes (tied with The Kid with a Bike), was nominated for 2 European Film awards and many other honors. It was Turkey's nomination for the Oscars but was not chosen for the Best Foreign Film category. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Ceylan returned with Winter Sleep/Kis Uykusu (2014). Muhammet Uzuner (Münferit (2007)), who plays the coroner, returned in Home/Yurt (2011); Yilmaz Erdogan (Vizontele (2001)), who plays the investigator, in Rhino Season/Fasle Kargadan (2012). Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is certified fresh at 93 % with an 8.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia?
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