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Distant Reviews
Uzak (Distant) struck me as a quiet, contemplative look at loneliness—not just being alone, but that more profound kind of isolation you can feel even when someone’s right there. I admired Ceylan’s direction: those long, still shots, the wintry mood, the way silence does most of the talking. Muzaffer Özdemir felt totally believable as Mahmut—stuck in his routines, emotionally bottled up—while Mehmet Emin Toprak brought this quiet sadness to his role that stayed with me. I appreciated the craft and atmosphere but never entirely connected with it emotionally. Beautifully made, just a little too distant for me.
A good movie is both enjoyable to watch and a movie that is noticed and stays in the mind. An unpretentious but powerful drama with a unique performance by both main actors, which shows a tactful direction. One of the attractive points of the film is the direction and cinematography. Another good point of the movie is the few dialogues, but appropriate. The film is a story of loneliness and alienation of people in today's life.
I don't mind slow and atmospheric and all that but jeez, this was snail-like.
It feels as if films about isolation in a world of billions inevitably skew towards technology as the culprit, implying that there was some sort of idyllic balance before television and social media came along to chain everyone to some form of addictive content. Uzak takes a different, more universal stance on loneliness, largely independent of technology and more focused on clashes in personality, disillusionment, and emotional self-isolation. In their attempts to reach out and firmly graps some direct connection, Özdemir's Mahmut and Toprak's Yusuf only seem able to flail against the current, every day bleeding into the next as they observe others at a distance without the courage to take a decisive step. Bleak but riddled with cynical bits of humor, this is one of those films that may draw critics due to its slow pacing alone, but that tedium matches the thematic goals of the film and ends up reinforcing the development of the characters (or notable lack thereof). (3.5/5)
Clearly inspired by the films of Andrei Tarkovsky (the opening scene looks like something from The Mirror and check out Tarkovsky's Stalker playing on the television), Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Distant is a visual wonder. Filled with lengthy takes and beautifully framed shots that are blocked to perfection, it is a pensive and ethereal examination of loneliness, obligation and longing. A photographer lives a lonely existence in an apartment in Istanbul, quietly missing his estranged wife, when a distant cousin arrives at his door seeking shelter until he finds employment. Their deteriorating relationship is meticulously dissected over the remainder of the film, leaving the viewer with the sense that we are sometimes doomed to live our lives in ways we never would have imagined.
Narratively this film will bore you. The plot itself is an excuse to slam these two characters together. Yet, it is the most uncomfortable, universal and realistic showcase of people emotionally distancing themselves from each other. Many scenes might seem insignificant or pointless but if you consider them from the perspective of the characters you will see the emotional depth they carry. Instead of trying to connect or understand, both of the men get annoyed at little, petty things in each others behavior, while wallowing in a complete lack of purpose in their lives, highlighted by long still shots. The film is also very quite. There is seemingly no score. And vast stretches of it are just a prolonged silence. Silence is usually considered to be lowkey sign of pretentiousness relative to it's volume in the film because it might seem to people that creator doesn't know what to say and gives this task of interpretation to you. Here, it's the main center point, inability to communicate and then silently brood over this in a seething regret is in my opinion the quintessential human aspect of life.
So beautiful and sad. Spectacular cinematography.
The first Nuri Bilge Ceylan film under 2h that I watched (also the only major one under that length) it was also the most challenging. Long silences, long shots. Still, at the end of it I could feel the cold of the human relationships settling in, so it might not be particularly pleasant, but is definitely another job well done.
A great movie by Nuri Bilge Ceylan demonstrates the physical and psychological distance between us in life.
A meditation of sorts on the distances that people allow to come between them - or that they put there on purpose. Mahmut is a successful commercial photographer in Istanbul who is visited by his "country cousin" recently out-of-work due to a factory closing in their hometown. Age and class differences now separate them but Mahmut is also in a funk due to his recent divorce from his wife (who still contacts him despite being remarried and about to move to Canada). The distance between men and women (although the latter are far and few between) might also be a subtheme here. Yusuf, the cousin, is also unable to find work - his dreams and goals are similarly distant. Ceylan shoots the wintry landscapes and harbor with a sharp eye for stillness and the various hues of grey and blue. His work wins awards though this is a quiet not grandstanding film.
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Very very slow, maybe some of the time spent watching characters watch tv could have been used to develop them. But the way its done really shows the lifelessness of the characters, brilliantly shot with a message every working person should take on board.
The title, which translates to Distant in English is very apt for this drama in which on the surface very little happens but it profoundly captures Mahmut's largely self inflicted isolation. As ever Istabul is a wonderfully cinematic location and is photographed again beautifully here.
the whole film looks like a beautifully taken picture and we enjoy it until the amature and professional actors clash on screen when we add Nuri Bilge Ceylan's badly written dialogs to it , the film turns into a boring mess.
wow ummm just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a great movie 2 watch,.....its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie......i think that Feridun Koç, Nazan Kirilmis, Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Mehmet Emin Toprak (.R.I.P.), Muzaffer ??zdemir, play good roles/parts thorughout this movie.......i think that the director of this art house/international/drama movie had done a great job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie.........i think that this is such a beautifully shot movie it is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch.........i think that this is such a brilliant, beautiful movie 2 watch its such a great movie 2 watch.........i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch its got a great cast throughout this movie.......i think that Emin Toprak as Yusuf was brilliant throughout this movie.......its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie......i think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch...... This was the last film that Emin Toprak made, as soon after the filming of Uzak was completed, he died in a car accident at 28 years old. i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch it is such a beautifully directed movie 2 watch it is a really sad movie 2 watch but its such a beautifully directed movie 2 watch........i think that this is such a really well written/acted/directed movie 2 watch its such a brilliant movie 2 watch its so really well written movie 2 watch its such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch its so really well acted i think that this is such a brilliant movie 2 watch its a really slow movie but its such a really sad movie 2 watch its such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch its such a brilliant movie 2 watch its so really well directed with a great cast throughout this movie its such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch.......
A shorter review this time I'm afraid as time waits for no man (this one in particular it seems). An intriguing write-up led me to this one; I have found several gems this way, particularly foreign language films. For those that have fear of the subtitle, be warned, this one is in Turkish with those dreaded words at the bottom of the screen. Here's one of the briefest summaries I've written, followed by my thoughts. When Yusuf (Emin Toprak) goes to Istanbul, he visits with Mahmut (Muzaffer Özdemir) while he looks for work. The film follows both these men as they look for both meaning and direction in their lives. I first have to say that it is beautifully shot with some truly excellent cinematography. The sound design is quite interesting too, with sounds that would normally be pushed right to the back taking centre stage as the visuals do their work. I thought the performances of the two main characters were excellent but I felt it lacked a bit of direction. The narrative tended to drift along without really finding anything of any substance to bring it to life. Still, I felt it was a worthy effort and worth a look. SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED My score: 6.7/10 There are extra bits & pieces (photos, links, trailer and BIGGER PRINT) on my blog at: http://thoughtsofasteelmonster.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/film-review-uzak-distant-2002.html Enjoy!... :)
A deep and almost melancholy look on urban life and the aims of the young and how financial aims outrun any other ambition. A good representation of the interaction between two people who just don't get along. The director had a lot of potential, unfortunately he died after making this one.