Sonbahar (Autumn)

I found this film to be extremely beautiful to watch but has a story that if you know Turkey's history hits hard and if you don’t, still hits hard as a voyage into the last days of a very ill man -that in my personal opinion- revisits his past and grieves in silence his life.

The film written and directed by Özcan Alper is a complex story told mostly in silence –even when at moments gave excess of unnecessary information- and great expressions by main actors that gravitates around the not so long ago (the 90‘s) incidents that happened in Turkey and an idealist that ends up in jail for ten years only to be liberated because he’s dying, so he returns to his small mountain village only to find that most of the population are elderly people and a few younger ones that feel trapped in the village. Is a story of contrasts, of failure, of lost ideals, of repression and aggression, and most of all, of the reality that many had to face in Turkey during and after the 90’s.

The film has extraordinary cinematography with very poetic views of magnificent mountains that go from fall to winter. The music score is truly outstanding and highly contributes for you to feel the landscapes and main characters emotions. Performances are amazing with special mention to Onur Saylak that plays Yusuf and Megi Kobaladze that plays Eka, the Georgian prostitute.

Definitively not for all audiences and the best reference I can give is that if you enjoyed Nuri Belge Ceylan’s Climates, surely will highly appreciate this film. But here the story is powerful and hard-hitting. The movie won the Best Director at the 2009 Sofia fest and at the 2008 Tbilisi fest and awards are well deserved especially when is Alper’s debut film and definitively does not look or feel like his first oeuvre.

I loved the visuals, liked the story even when I felt it was really hard (but reality is hard) and highly recommend it to those that like great Turkish cinema.

Enjoy!!!

Watch trailer @ Movie On Companion