East Kingston, New Hampshire

"Mahmut (Muzzafer Özdemir), a divorced, hermit-like photographer, lets his dopey cousin Yusuf (Mehmet Emin Toprak) live with him for a while in Istanbul while Yusuf looks for a job so he can support his family in their native Turkish village.

The distance -- and silence -- between the two lonely, depressed men soon grows to intolerance, on Mahmut's part, of the chaos Yusuf has brought into his life.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan directs this intimate drama." Netflix blurb. It was not long before my wife lost conciousness, perhaps ten minutes into the film when I decided that viewing this film to completion would take considered effort. Some would say, "if it's crap shut it off."

I treat these moments as learning experiences. Not that Distant was a bad film. Not truly. It had a Bergman-esque expanse, replete with mordant characters, bristling with unease throughout their interactions with one another.

However, on a small screen it was hard to attend to the emotional/logical impetus of the narrative, without saying to oneself, "these people remind me of people I know, I am. . .where's the remote?" The visuals of shadows and physical silence in the Turkish cityscapes and countryside were compelling and perhaps for me the reason I stuck it out. My wife was better rested than I.

Posted By bators on 2006-03-21 19:22:45.0 | DVDs
1 comment | Reads: 1532 |

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