Auf trockenen Gräsern

Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan is probably the most confrontationally ambitious filmmaker working today. This doesn't necessarily make him the best. Indeed, there are times when you can feel him reaching for a greatness that the likes of Arichitapong Weerasthakul or Bela Tarr make seem easy. Nonetheless, Ceylan takes on the "Big Themes" with a Herculean boldness. He's the "old school great film artist" of today. His work sometimes feels like it belongs more in the era of Bergman or Bresson than today, but that doesn't make it any less impressive.

Ceylan's new film, "About Dry Grasses", is one of his best. The main character, Samet (played by Deniz Celiloglu in an at times overly intense performance), incarnates many of Ceylan's consistent concerns. Like many of the director's characters he is a secular intellectual, or at least he is striving to be one, to throw off the non-secular culture around him. In this, these characters reflect Turkey itself, a predominantly geographically and culturally Asian, Muslim nation that, since the inception of its modern state, has openly striven to become a secular, European one. He thinks too much, which is not to say too well, but this thoughtfulness is often a disguise or an excuse for a resentful selfishness.

Indeed, Samet is one of Ceylan's least likable main characters. At times, his actions disgust us. But the wisdom of the film comes with the acknowledgement that the decisions made by this quasi-anti-villain do not, in fact, amount to actual villainy. Samet is not who he, or we, wish him to be. But neither is humanity, or the world it inhabits. Time, the fact that life literally goes on despite our intentions, bestows on the living the transformative ability to apologize and forgive. (Hannah Arendt would, I think, have liked this movie.)

Ceylan is one of cinema's greatest landscape artists. Although "About Dry Grasses" consists mostly of interiors, the exterior scenes are breath taking. The small village Samet teaches in is supposed to be bleak and ugly and in some sense it is. But there is a sublimity to the revelation of these monotonous snow-scapes. Ceylan's landscapes give his films a singularly sensual quality. A viewer feels the chill of the town and the relief of a building with central heating or, to a less relieving degree, a fire, stove, or cup of hot tea. When winter finally breaks it seems a kind of existential reprieve.

One last note, while this is very much Samet's story, Celiloglu's is not the film's best performance. That goes to the Cannes-award-winning Merve Dizdar, whose performance is as smoldering as that of Celiloglu's, but also decidedly more restrained. The supporting cast, including young Ece Bagci, are generally excellent.

A not very pleasant character is the lead. He is selfish, self regretting, seeks love of too young girls, wants a women, because a friend wants her, has no aim to help other people, talks a lot about bad circumstances, but does nothing to improve something. Truly, not somebody we want to follow as lead character. But .... movies are long enough to do a lot of self reflecting during viewing. And in the end I had to admit to myself: my own character is - very sadly - quite close to that of this lead character. And he survives - so I might survive, too.

Don't be afraid of the movie length. In fact I could have studied the characters for another hour... Fully recommended !

While I'm not accustomed to writing reviews, I feel compelled to share my thoughts on this film. The experience leaves me with mixed emotions. Visually, it's undeniably stunning, but the narrative's prolonged nature leaves a somewhat unpleasant aftertaste. With a runtime of 3 hours, the first two are rather tedious, contrasting sharply with the spectacular final hour. This is perhaps the most disappointing thing about the movie because it's well seen that this has potential. The final hour stands out as one of the best cinematic experiences I've had, but it's the initial two hours that fail to captivate. The slow pace, extended duration, and occasional loss of coherence contribute to my reservations.

Regarding the characters, the protagonist is remarkably selfish, self-centered, and outright unpleasant to others. While I appreciate the appeal of characters challenging viewers' perspectives, personally, I struggle to enjoy a narrative with such a malevolent main character. This character type represents the one I find most detestable.

In terms of character impact, none, except for the woman, left a significant impression on me. She undeniably stands out as the most intriguing character in the entire movie. The final scene, where she confronts her friend, emerges as one of the most impactful moments in the film.

Despite being a polarizing film that either garners love or disdain, I encourage individuals to give it a chance. Maybe not solely for the characters or the storyline, but there's a potential for valuable lessons to be gleaned from this cinematic endeavor.

It's a character drama about truth and lies in modern times in rural Eastern Turkey during a harsh winter. It follows various teachers who are required to work in a remote area before transferring to more desirable urban locations. Samet (Deniz Celiloglu) is a fourth-year art teacher in primary school who can't wait to transfer out. His friend, Kenan (Musab Ekici), is his housemate and a fellow teacher. Samet seems to be popular with his students, especially Sevim (Ece Bagci), an attractive grade-eight student to whom he has given presents. Initially, we learn of the rigidity and bureaucratic nature of the educational system through Samet's interactions with his superintendent, Bekir (Onur Berk Arslanoglu) and the Director of Education (Yildirim Gucuk).

One day, the school administration confiscates a love letter that Sevim has written, and Samet comes into possession of it, though he claims to Sevim that he has destroyed it. Her distrustful reaction creates difficulties both for Samet and Kenan.

A distraction for Samet and Kenan is Nuray (Merve Disdar), a female teacher at a nearby school who lost a leg in a terrorist bombing some years before. Samet and Kenan are interested in Nuray, though both are devious in their procedures. Throughout, there are lengthy conversations about how to make the most impact on the world, with the apparent options being risking action or sitting back and observing with a cynical eye.

The Roger Ebert reviewer called "About Dry Grasses" "steadily paced, richly intellectual, and absorbingly acted." I found it pretentious, at least an hour too long at three hours and twenty minutes, and trapped in too many plot ambitions. Celiloglu, Bagci, and Disdar perform very well, though one conversation between Samet and Nuray is interminable. I suspect the subtitle translation is not the best; some Turkish speakers in the audience, when I watched, heard humorous references not reflected in the subtitles.

Probably Nuri Bilge Ceylan's movie with the most dialog. If you don't mind spending three and a half hours sitting, you will watch it with interest. The acting is incredibly successful. Deniz Cellioglu's acting as Samet is incredible. Merve Dizdar had already proven her success by winning the best actress award at the Cannes film festival for her acting in this movie. Centering on a handful of teachers in a snow-covered village in Anatolia, we watch an extraordinary story with a great script. Although the prolonged dialogues sometimes slow down the pace, I think you will enjoy the film in general. Especially the naturalness of the small actors in the student roles is magnificent. During Nuray and Samet's long conversation at the dinner table, there are inconsistencies in terms of continuity in the positions of the actors at different camera angles. Ceylan is already a master photographer. He reflected this mastery in his movie. I found his use of the camera very successful, especially in tight spaces. Some of the sentences interspersed between the dialogues still impress me. It will be very surprising if this movie is not among the best foreign film nominees for the Oscars. It was one of the two movies I saw this year that I can say I liked very much. I hope the majority feel the same way.