Originally Posted by
Jamesian
"Climates" by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
This movie has some of the longest single-take shots I've ever seen (outside of, say, the full-length single-shot in "Russian Ark"), and they work very well. Apparently, the leads (middle-aged college professor and younger TV producer girlfriend) are played by the director and his wife, and some Turkish people seem to think he's an outrageously bad actor; but with subtitles one doesn't seem to notice such things so much. There is not a great deal of dialogue, and, consequently, this film contains some of the best "face-acting" I've witnessed. The young woman's silent emotional shift at the beginning (perhaps while reflecting on the man's past affair with another woman?) is quite impressive, as are the lengthy scenes in which nearly everything in the way of communication between the characters is conveyed through their eyes and faces. Supposedly, the climate at different periods is supposed to function as a metaphor for what's taking place in the man's head - if not those of both characters. It isn't a very...um, traditional correlation, though.
I dug it.
8/10