Review of Nuri Bilge Ceylan: The Early Works (2 Discs)

Introduction

Despite being a huge fan of European and world cinema, particularly the utter contrast with modern Hollyweird and the diversity of films being made in our lovely little (big) continent, there are still some incredibly talented artists within this slice of the film industry that haven`t even hit this reviewer`s deep-space radar. Nuri Bilge Ceylan was one of those, at least until a double bill from his small catalogue of work arrived for review. The 48-year old Turk has only made five films, two of which make up this set entitled `Nuri Bilge Ceylan: The Early Works`, and they`re both quite powerful, somewhat personally expressive works which explore childhood, family and culture from a man who clearly enjoys exploring his roots, given added naturalism by hinging on a cast full of non-actors, child-performers and even his own family; here, a couple of major roles for his own parents. A particularly visual director, in this set Ceylan has proven himself a fine cinematographer, but clearly one from the school adhering to the doctrine of having attractive framing and composition augment the stories, not exist in lieu of them. A rarity indeed.

In 1997`s `Kasaba` (`Small Town`), Ceylan tells a straight-forward, seemingly mundane tale of everyday living in a small Turkish town. Told mostly from the perspective of an 11-year old girl and her younger brother, it`s shot in black and white and framed against the four changing seasons (a re-occurring theme in Ceylan`s work), and displays just how eventful a seemingly uneventful existence can be. Sublime in all its subtlety, `Kasaba` features some terrific `acting` from the young performers, is visually striking and paints a demonstrably realistic portrait of Turkish life filled with heart-tugging warmth and pathos.

1999`s `Mayis Sikintisi` (`Clouds of May`) is altogether more ambitious and strikingly resonant of an auto-biography. Muzaffer returns to his home-town with the intention of making a documentary film, in which his family and friends are to unwittingly be the stars. Managing to avoid telling them what the film is about thanks to the naivety of the participants, they let down their guard as Muzaffer duplicitously films them at their most unfeigned, and captures the heart of where he came from. Featuring Ceylan`s own mother and father playing Muzaffer`s parents, the role of the film-maker is a thinly veiled construction of Ceylan as he made his previous films. The performances (being loathe to call it acting per se) from the parents are, one would imagine, inseparable from the reality and are as convincing and understated as any from trained actors, and, as the bonus features will attest to, lie as much with Ceylan`s approach to directing his kin as his family`s obvious comfort in turning themselves into performers in their boy`s little puppet show.

Video

The lovely monochrome photography of `Kasaba` can`t hide the unfortunately scraggly visuals on the transfer. Presented in a letterboxed 1.66:1 (1.85:1 with vertical pillar borders), it`s teeming with blemishes, scratches, dirt and an unseemly faint vertical line which appears and re-appears, dancing a jig around the left hand side of the frame.

`Mayis Sikintisi` doesn`t fare much better, and the colour visuals show up the flaws here to a greater effect. Flecked with dirt and grain, it`s soft and fuzzy with little in the way of sharp lines and edges, and comes off as, well, blurry. The frame also has a tendency to judder around a bit, however it is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0 Turkish with English subtitles on both films. The audio tracks on both were clear, although `Kasaba` was a little quieter, but nothing here to get excited about. Subtitles are fine, although there was at least one dialogue scene where everything that was said didn`t appear to be subtitled - either liberties taken with the captioning or, in true mock kung-fu dub fashion, it takes a few sentences in Turkish to say a word or two in English.

Features

Both films feature a 20-minute making of, both of which are an insightful watch, especially that accompanying `Mayis Sikintisi` in which, from behind the camera, we get a glimpse into how Ceylan feeds his parents lines and delivers his direction. Both discs feature trailers for other Nuri Bilge Ceylan discs, a small text biography on the man himself, and `Kasaba` has a music video.

Conclusion

Two clearly very personal films from a talented director, the performances across both features cement the realistic approach Ceylan needed to fully explore Turkish culture and his own roots through his chosen medium. Of particular note are the scenes in `Mayis Sikintisi` in which he uses Muzaffer as a cipher to converse with his own parents on his own terms, but all involved deserve a gold star. `Mayis Sikintisi` is the more accomplished piece, albeit slightly overlong at 130-minutes, although there are scenes in `Kasaba` which will stay with you long after the film is finished; and it`s a pretty darned decent piece too. There are scenes involving animals in `Kasaba` that may be too much for sensitive souls ( like this one), and it features some ropey after-dub lip-synching, but this is a pair of films that deserve to be admired in all their rough, truthful glory.