Once Upon a Time in Anatolia/Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da (2011) - Ceylan's long, downbeat crime drama

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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?

From Russia with Love (1963) - Several remarkable elements make Young's 2nd Bond an enduring classic

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James Bond returns to action, combat, stylish garbs and sexy women on this fabulous painted poster for Terence Young's From Russia with Love

When the evil organization SPECTRE lures MI6 agent James Bond to Istanbul with a Russian beauty and the chance to procure a Soviet cryptographic devise, 007 is launched on a perilous journey for the Lektor machine, his life and the life of the lovely Tatiana.

From Russia with Love is the first Bond sequel, following Dr. No (1962). It is written by Richard Maibaum (Diamonds Are Forever (1971)) and Johanna Harwood (Call Me Bwana (1963)), based on Ian Fleming's (Dr. No (1958)) novel From Russia, with Love (1957), and directed by returning Chinese-born, British master filmmaker Terence Young (The Secret Agents (1965)).
It is filled with Sean Connery's (The Man Who Would Be King (1975)) Bond brand of sexist one-liners, spy setups, the later heavily parodied SPECTRE organization, gadgets, cool locations such as the memorable lethal spy nest of Cold War Istanbul and the gypsy camp that sees alluring belly-dancing turn into a wild cat-fight, - and the Orient Express.
Add to this Connery, the ultimate Bond, who is in his prime as the suave character here; Pedro Armendáriz (The Uprooted (1960)) in his final part as Turkish gentleman Kerim Bey, beautiful Daniela Bianchi (Special Mission Lady Chaplin (1966)) as the main Bond girl, who just can't get enough James, and Robert Shaw (A Man for All Seasons (1966)) as the blond goon, Grant. - And Lotte Lenya (The Appointment (1969)) as the iconic, lesbian, shoe-knifing villain, Rosa Klebb.
From Russia with Love is more scruffy, suspenseful, colorful and handsome than Dr. No; it relies more on espionage elements than lushly exotic locales and is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece North by Northwest (1959). It is a spectacle of the rarest order, one that reeks of sex. - And it is certainly one of the top 3 Bond movies of all time.

Related posts:

Terence Young: Top 10: Best franchise movies

Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Dr. No (1962) - Bond # 1 is one attractive package
Other films in the Bond franchise: Spectre (2015) - Mendes' second Bond delivers Skyfall (2012) - The overly celebrated third pout from Daniel Craig as Bond in slick production
A View to a Kill (1985) or, Once a Gentleman, Always a Gentleman!  Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - Connery's last Bond adventure is a colorful romp
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (spoof comedy - not an official part of the franchise)

Cost: 3 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 78.9 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[From Russia with Love premiered 10 October (London) and runs 116 minutes. Connery was paid 54k $ and a 100k $ bonus for his performance in the film. The elaborate chess set cost a huge 150k $ to construct. Shooting took place from April - August 1963 in Turkey, including Istanbul, Italy, England, including London, Scotland and - the shots of rats - in Madrid, Spain. The production was rushed to completion just the year after the first Bond film, and several remarkable problems occurred: Armendáriz was diagnosed with inoperable cancer during production: He completed almost all of his scenes without delay, in pain, and took his own life when he could no longer act. Young crashed into the ocean in a helicopter with the art director and a cameraman in Scotland, but was rescued and completed the day's shooting. Days later, Bianchi's driver fell asleep during their commute, and the actress' face was bruised in the accident, barring her from shooting for two weeks. A boat rented by the production sunk in Turkey's Bosphorus strait, and the final explosion got out of control, burning one person's eyelids and seriously injuring 3 stunt men. The film went over schedule and budget: Its original budget of 2 mil. $ seems to have ended up vastly over its limit, if the 3 mil. $ final cost is accurate. The original international gross is listed as 12.5 mil. $, double Dr. No's take, becoming the most popular movie at the British box office of 1963. With many later re-releases, the film's North American gross has risen to 24.7 mil. $ (31.3 % of the reported international gross of 78.9 mil. $). Original reviews were a mix of praise and ridicule. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a BAFTA, among other honors. Young returned with The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965). Connery returned in Woman of Straw (1964). The next Bond movie was Goldfinger (1964), with Connery, directed by Guy Hamilton. Young directed one more Bond movie; Thunderball (1965).  From Russia with Love is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of From Russia with Love?

Winter Sleep/Kış Uykusu (2014) - Ceylan's complex, novelistic drama masterpiece

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+ Best Turkish Movie of the Year

 

An evocative, melancholic poster for Nuri Bilge Cylan's Winter Sleep

 

Aydin is an aging hotel and land owner and a hobby writer, Aydin, who collides with a family of down-on-their-luck tenants, meanwhile his sister and wife are waging a verbal war on him during a Turkish winter.

 

Winter Sleep is a film that is more shaped as a good novel would be than films usually are. SPOILER Around an hour passes concerning a broken car window; the next more or less with the carping sister; and the last, more or less, is spent on the disdainful wife. It is therefore not a movie for everyone, because it may be demanding for some in terms of our capacity for empathy, patience as well as intellectually. But Winter Sleep has a winter's slow pace but is never dull.

The film portrays humans with superior skill, - among other things, it includes a 15 minutes-long row between the brother and sister, which has to pass over in cinema history as one of the finest sibling squabbles ever, as they lash deeper and deeper stings against the other with the awful determination of petty family insight.

There is a lot at stake here. The film tackles meaty topics such as evil, charity and the marriage institution, - and it has some fabulous, archetypal characters. But the main theme, I think, is an unusual one for cinema, namely resignation. Resignation to the facts of life and its imperfect constructs. Resignation to flaws and defeat. The tale is seen from the viewpoint of Aydin (Haluk Bilginer (Buffalo Soldiers (2001))), a matured, melancholicly disposed man, who has passed his prime and knows it, but who still has a high regard for himself, his past years on the stage and his literary talents, especially as they pertain to skewering his local surroundings - in the local newspaper.

Winter Sleep is written by great Turkish co-writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia/Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da (2011)) and his wife Ebru Ceylan (Three Monkeys/Üç Maymun (2008)). It is based on Anton Chekhov's (The Seagull/Chayka (1896)) short story The Wife and one subplot of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's (The Idiot/Idiot (1868-9)) The Brothers Karamazov/Brat'ya Karamazovy (1879-80). 

 

Related posts:

 

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V] 

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]

 

 

 

Watch an official trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: In excess of 4.1 mil. $

= Uncertainty (likely even Steven)

[Winter Sleep premiered May 16 (Cannes) and runs 196 minutes. Filming took place with the Sony F65 camera on location in Anatolia for 2 winter months, followed by four weeks in an Istanbul studio. The film was awarded 450k € from Eurimages as a French-German-Turkish co-production. The film won the Palm d'Or in Cannes as well as the FIPRESCI (critics') prize. It seems to have grossed 165k $ in North America (4 % of the total gross) . It made 1.6 mil. $ (39 % in its native Turkey, where it was reportedly Ceylan's biggest hit to date. Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 1 mil. $ (24.4 %) and Italy with 290k $ (7.1 %). It might have broken even but it is unlikely that it has turned a profit. It was Turkey's entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar but wasn't nominated. It has reportedly made an additional 88k $ on video sales. Winter Sleep is certified fresh at 88 % with an 8.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Winter Sleep?