Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

This movie, like every movie from N.B. is absolutely incredible. Go watch it. Extra content is also good, very good product.

Two and a half hours long, it better be good--I said to my dad, who recommended "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia". I expect all movies I watch to be like Lincoln or Gravity. So I watched Anatolia last night and I simply couldn't go to sleep until I finished watching it way past midnight. It was that enthralling. The movie begins against the gray backdrop of the Anatolian steppes and the bright orange headlights of cars meandering down a narrow road. The police have captured a murder suspect, who is trying to lead them to a body. When the sky turns pitch black and the suspect has problems identifying the location, the confusion leads to tragicomedic scenes and taut plot development begins in unexpected ways. Every scene pulls in the viewer deeper and deeper into the story, along with a side-story, to knot the interest. I was tempted to correct some of the subtitles, but all in all the translation is very good.

[This is a review of the film, not the Blu-Ray itself, which has not yet been released.] A beautifully shot, deliberately paced existentialist meditation on crime, relationships, and truth. Shot mostly in gorgeous long takes that take full advantage of the widescreen aspect ratio, the film requires (and rewards) patient viewing. The first half of the film, in which a late-night caravan of law enforcement officials drive two murder suspects to a series of nearly identical rural wells, looking for the location of a buried body, is brilliant. It echoes Waiting for Godot, as the seemingly endless search for the body fades into the background, and the focus turns to conversations about personal problems, petty bureaucracy, differing values, and the meaning of life. As the film continues, different members of the caravan wax and wane in importance, each offering a different perspective on life and one's place in the world. The final act of the film -- which occurs back in town the following day -- drags a bit, but contains powerful revelations. Despite it's subtle metaphysical explorations, this film is also a highly realistic police procedural. It is very faint praise to say that this film is the anti-CSI, but it's cynical views of truth and justice contrast starkly with TV procedurals. A vain prosecutor basks in his role and makes up facts for convenience, no one has remembered to bring a body bag (or a hearse) for the corpse, the gendarmes are more concerned about where municipal boundaries fall than anything else, a critical medical discovery is fudged, there are rumors the murder victim has been seen alive in neighboring towns, and nothing is wrapped up in an hour, let alone 150 minutes... This is a film for patient viewers who enjoy the liesurely-paced works of Malick, von Trier, Kiarostami, Tarkovsky or other auteurs of so-called Contemporary Contemplative Cinema.

Please see it with NO reservations or pre conceived ideas. You will not be disappointed.

I think everyone would know by now what to expect in Swedish movies, or Italian, or Japanese or Chinese, or "Bollywood", that they are driven by a culture. So I am assuming the we are dealing here with Turkish culture, a people from Central Asia in 1200 (not Arab, not Moslem), Westernized since 1915, and modern (with computers, mobile phones). And this culture must somehow be introspective, with things understood by what isn't said as well as by what is said. There are police and arrestees, a tedious investigation is made, a body is found and, in the end no action is taken. All interspersed with inconsequential conversation and long silences. From this we gather that everyone knew what was what to begin with. The operating word is "byzantine". Try it once. Enjoy if you like, but know what to expect the next time.

A haunting simplistic noir film at first glance... Requiring a second look to get at the underling story that hinges it all together... The NOIR PQ is beautiful... The SQ is what we have come to except from BLU-RAYS 2day... The Special Features are as average as the cover art...

I bought this movie with not knowing much about it. It was one of the hardest movies i have ever tried to sit through. I spent 2 hours waiting for SOMETHING to happen and it never did. Im not real sure what the point of the movie was nor was I able to draw much of a conclusion about anything...except on what is good yogurt. Dont waste your time or your money...you will be disappointed.

I love this movie, slow burn with interesting cinematography.

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia est un des plus grands films de tous les temps ! Le Palme d'Or est tellement mérité. La qualité des deux DVD est parfaite Le bonus qui contient The Making Of est étonnant, peut-être le meilleur de ce style de documentaire. Tout est bien sous-titré en Anglais. Harvey Vincent

Ispirandosi a racconti di Cechov, il film racconta una Turchia in bilico tra tradizione e modernita, tra violenza e civiltà, tra superstizione e scienza, che non trova un equilibrio. La scienza e l'ordine chiuderanno gli occhi sulle forze oscure che covano sotto la superficie. Ottimi fotografia e montaggio, due ore e mezza di film senza momenti di azione e che pure non viene mai a noia. Bravissimi gli attori.

Packende Handlung, großartig fotografiert. Man schaut in eine faszinierende, absolut fremde Welt. Ich finde, der Regisseur ist hervorragend. unglaublich aufregend.

Me gusta el cine de Nuri Bilge Ceylan pero esta creo que aun mas. Yo me atrevería a decir que es una obra maestra del cine policiaco. Austera y deslumbrante es un estudio perfecto de unos personajes en un espacio singular y todo ello casi en una noche que narra la búsqueda de un cadáver perdido en medio de la Anatolia. Describe a la perfección el comportamiento de sus habitantes y poco a poco nos hace participe de las miserias y grandezas de un entorno hostil que a veces se convierte en entrañable. 157 minutos extraordinarios y de una humanidad que trasciende lo físico. No hay intriga policial estrictamente dicha, pero si hay todo un mundo interior que humaniza el entorno. Sin duda alguna una de las mejores películas del 2012, Gran Premio del Festival de Cannes y con una fotografía insuperable. Un thriller rural mas cercano a Antonioni de lo que parece. PS. Desgraciadamente el Blue Ray no tiene subtitulos en español. Tiene ademas sustanciosos extras, un makig off de 96 minutos y las impresiones de la película en Cannes (40 minutos). Ahora se estrena en España, pero mucho me temo que su difusión será mínima . Si sabes turco o ingles no dejes pasar la ocasión.

I lived in Turkey for almost 9 years and saw this with a friend who lived in Turkey for 3 years. We laughed a lot; enjoyed it immensely. I imagine many Turks or anyone with experience of living (in contrast to holidaying) in Turkey would probably get a lot out of it. The director uses the device of getting you to feel what the characters are feeling (ie increasing frustration and boredom) on what feels like a never ending endless night of repetitious, mostly fruitless searching. This is peppered with breathtakingly gorgeous visuals, hilarious exchanges, actions and ommissions plus many dark observations. From what I have heard of others' opinions, it seems people either love it or hate this film. I think the latter probably don't "get" it - either the cinematic device or the observations of the chaos which is so recognisable to the initiated. As to what people who do not know Turkey at all make of it, I do not know. One person walked out of the packed cinema (who knows why - could have been anything) but there was a LOT of laughter from the audience. Some Turkish friends found it very funny.