Beyond the Hill

I was very fortunate that EYE Film Museum Amsterdam ran this movie during the Turkish Beat festival. Must say that I really really loved this movie. It is the sort of movie keeps you thinking within a couple days after you watch it. And I'm not talking gets you thinking out of not understanding the story but more like wanting to really know what is really "behind the hill".

The story take place in a remote village in East of Turkey where a family with complicated internal relationships constantly struggle with the villagers on the other side of the hill. You never see them but you only see their actions- or the actions that are attributed to them. From the start to the end, it's all wrapped with tensions of the unknown and how the villagers find ways to deal with them.

I do want to write so much more but I hate the spoiler reviews so I will leave it at this. For all I know, I still am not sure what was behind the hill.

Gorkem

I was lucky enough to catch this at this years International Berlin Festival. The director was realistic about the eventual outcome of the movie I suppose, but still the fact he made this movie is something that should be celebrated. It's a really remarkable movie, with standout performances by the cast. And while it does revolve around violence, none is actually really shown.

Which makes the whole thing even more intriguing and more arresting at the same time. Human interactions are the main course, with our instincts, drives and fears being dissected very slowly and for all to see. You can see things coming, but it seems to be impossible to stop them. It's in our nature. While this is a pessimistic view of things (or at least my interpretation of it), this is an amazing movie, that I cannot recommend highly enough!

One of those Turkish not so easily and pace running movies. VERY slow and boring cinematography.

I get surprised to find Beyond the Hill being treated as master class in film making cause it's very bad in directing and acting.

Have had so many similar story telling and director of photography waiting so much from its audience, sound editing is outrage and beyond new era film making.

Being living abroad and expecting what my country can make really sucks. Don't give me award winning excuse cause really not sure how they get prizes but can only convince 7-8 theaters for screening. There must be something wrong somewhere! I hate to say it's hard breaking to watch a film long enough where it should have been only 15 Min's...

An allegorical Turkish drama where a retired forester and his visiting family become increasingly paranoid about unseen nomads "beyond the hill," revealing tensions and the creation of an "enemy".

An overrated movie. Even if there is a political message about making enemy within the movie, I could not see more than that. A cheap production and not enjoyable to watch.

It is an interesting movie that shows very well how Turkish people feel to live in this land. I think this is because of the education system, politicians and media in Turkey. They want us to have fears for "those people beyond the hill". They want us to hate "those people beyond the hill". They want us to kill "those people beyond the hill". Of course this is a generalization but it fits for a lot of people who lives in Turkey.

I don't agree with people who thinks that this movie is slow or boring. (If you want, you can always watch an action movie or something.) It helps you to think what is next, but you never know everything at the moment.