jane campion presented the palm d'or to this film at cannes this year
enough said - didn't even bother with the writeup - ticket bought
but overheard at the ticket office - 195 minutes - oops - unexpected
settle in and hope the quickly purchased bottle of coke assists alertness
the setting of the film is in a mountainous part of the anatolia steppe
mr aydin is the proprietor of a hotel there and a wealthy landlord
despised by some of his tennants for his methods of obtaining rent
in an early scene a rock smashes the window of his land-rover
a young boy then caught, harangued and returned to his family
a long drawn out scene of arguments over his culpability
it's all quite hostile with aydin and his minder withdrawing
then the 'action' moves back up to the othello hotel
aydin lives there with his much younger wife nihal
she - very pretty - reminding me of rachel ward
also in residence is aydin's divorced sister necla
but not many guests are seen - due to time of year?
the director then really winds back the pace of the film
we're in for a long winter and nothing happens very quickly
discussions around the simple activities e.g. mushroom picking
aydin is a retired actor and spends a lot of time word-processing
he is on a mission to write a book and also writes for the local rag
he contributes a weekly column much to the chagrin of his sister
long drawn out arguments over the merit of the time spent
it really does drag - thank goodness for the bottle of coke
but a realisation that it is all very intentional from the director
he wants us to feel the sense of isolation and timelessness
ok with that - i'll take it and embrace whatever comes along
particularly outside scenes including the capture of wild horses
stunning wide shots of the bleak landscape in the steppes
what does evolve is the tension between aydin and nihal
she spends her free time assisting a charity for local schools
his arrogance means he is resentful of her independent actions
belittles her efforts and insists on taking charge of the paperwork
more long scenes of them bickering over this matter
but really it is the collapse of her love of him at the heart
a few hours have crept by so we know both characters well
no surprise then when he announces a move to istanbul for winter
and off he goes - but the weather is on his side and he is constrained
he gets as far as an old friends place and a drinking session follows
honest words are said and exchanged for the good of aydin
in the meantime nihal reaches out and visits the suffering tennants
hands over a dosh of money which ends up lost in the fire
her charity also rejected there and more heartbreak
man and wife then both crawl back to their isolated home
a revelation that they cannot do better on the outside world
their relationship changed with at least now some respect
end of film - crikey over 3 hours have elapsed
so little action and really not much dialogue
a sense that we have been fully absorbed
and i like that - it's not rave material
but it definitely is a special film
requiring a big commitment...
