Once Upon a Time in Anatolia2011

To say that Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is a long movie is an understatement. It is arduous, subtle and slow, and it's a work that doesn't stop after the credits roll. The characters are the central pieces of this motion picture albeit not being given any light on their personal background. The story's focus begins with Naci, followed by Arap, it shifts to the prosecutor then to the doctor. But everything is in its right place. Characters do more than talking, they converse, they discuss about their life, the everyday and the mundane, getting into humor, sharing a biscuit or a meal. It also has its moments of solemnity, characters staring at the window or to a picture, looking at a young beautiful woman - reflecting on her life that will not be fully realized, possibly relating it to their own existence which makes them sad and teary eyed. I find that scene with the Doctor looking at his photographs when he was a much younger man very enlightening. We can relate to him when you look at those pictures, it makes you smile knowing you had these moments of bliss, and it makes you sad at the same time because you will never be the same person again. At the end of the movie I think my initial reaction with the ending and my question on "what's the point" is a shared opinion akin to everybody else's before realizing how good this movie was, which is a necessary thing because that's how you appreciate this film: by asking questions in order to get to the truth. Aside from the drama, there are bits of hilarity that enlivens the movie, especially the comparison between Clark Gable to the prosecutor. Speaking of him, I think the story with a woman who died after giving birth refers to him and his wife, the former never moving on from the said experience although he tried to displaced it as somebody else. The doctor being the rational person that he is put some sense into the prosecutor that people don't die just because they told you to without any scientific reason. I felt it was a form of closure to the prosecutor when he accepts that people instigate their own death's in order to spite others. In my opinion, that is suicide, in a nutshell. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is similar to a Russian novel, it's lengthy without bordering in to sentimentality. Ceylan, not only as a filmmaker, but as a person is all over in this movie. These lines said by Naci, "You're still so young. Believe me, if I were you I'd pack my bags and clear off without a second thought," is so him and I think this is one of the best advises I've ever heard of in a movie. There are movies that tries to over blow the drama just to get through to people but not Ceylan, he wrote those words and they make sense and it touches you so deep because it's about the truth, which is essentially what this movie is gunning for.