Autumn

The characters are clearly under-developed, it would've added more depth to the film if there were more conversations, decent ones, and if the stimulating of the memories of prison wasn't through news materials. For more over all the film was a satisfying experience and I'm giving it 9 mainly for the great cinematography.

A poet says 'To one thing on the earth my heart burns for / those who passed away in the spring of their life'. And it is Autumn: Sonbahar which in Turkish means the last spring. Ozcan Alper's debut is about the evils the seasons do against the political prisoner Yusuf who was released for health reasons. Because of his socialist convictions he spent the spring-time of his life in prison. He comes back to his hometown. His mother takes care of him. He meets a Georgian girl and they fell in love. She suffers from the post-socialist conditions in her native country and is left with no other option than prostitute. Two victims of the same ideology, two lonely and tortured souls find a sheltering love in each other. But Yusuf's days are countable! Shot in beautiful locations in the Black Sea region which is also my hometown, the visuals of AUTUMN are simply magic and breath-taking. The Black Sea is the heart and inner world of Yusuf. Black Sea is an angry and rough, undulated sea. It is a rebellious sea as you'll see in one of the most beautiful scenes of the film where Yusuf walks over the sea on the small breakwater. The film has a sad end, the characters fall aside like Autumn leaves.. What else to say: the film is a beauty like a black pearl! It was also a box-office success in Turkey for an art-house film. Just see the film to discover more! 8 out of 10...

before to start this movie,i heard lots of good comment about it.and also the people said that the theme is really good.it also contains politics,lazish culture-especially lazish language- and the others.

the movie was started about some politic issues that this topic was used lots of times in Turkish cinema.there was no diversification.yes maybe the movie is only about that but it s not so strong in the movie finally.

first there were not so much people.the movie was turning around a couple of people.yes sometimes it can be advantage but it just made me bored in this movie.because the tempo of the movie was slow and so depressive.

second some part of the movie looked like they just put it for the landscape.it s truth that the landscape is perfect but the connection was lost sometimes.

the good things were the lazish dialogs,the relationship between yusuf and "scarlet woman" and the great -and sad- ending

I saw this film at the San Francisco International Film Festival and the audience was ecstatic. Fans of Bela Tarr will appreciate the scenes with no dialog, but which still deliver more information than a babbling script could have delivered about a troubled political prisoner and a conflicted nation in a confused world. The cinematography, from the "central chair" in the home to the snowy mountains of northern Turkey were amazing. One issue that I wish that I had looked at before seeing the film was the history of Turkish/Russian relations. This is a major theme. In a similar vein for those of us who have read and loved the novels of Orhan Pamuk, we westerners learn something very important about a vibrant but conflicted country. I gave this 9 stars based on content first, with cinematography a very close second. The lead actor is incredible and this is a new director to be watched.

I saw this debut movie at the last Black Nights FF in Tallinn. It has very strong political stance and very lyrical visual narration. Also good acting and good script is supporting this narrative. Onur Saylak in leading role is performing a great acting with a minimalistic warm and sincere play. Film tells the story of a political prisoner who has been suffered by the inhuman conditions of F-type jails. He has been released on the health ground, back to the hometown which is located in East Black Sea Region and tried to adopt to daily life again.The most impressive part of the story is his meeting with a young Georgian women who earns her life from prostitution.Their relation provides an opportunity to the audience to compare the dreams, frustrations and the pains of two people which one of them is spent his ten years in prison because of his socialist ideology and the other suffers from aftereffects of same ideology. It is a good example of New Turkish Cinema of 2000s like "My Marlon and Brando" and "Summer Book". I gave 8 this movie and strongly recommend to everyone who likes art-house movie with humanistic discourse.