Ilklimer (Climates)

This Nuri Bilge Ceylan film tells the story of a relationship rupture. Movies about this subject usually are melodramatic, intense dramas or lately even a comedy. This movie is none of those types of breakups. This is a silent and slow separation. But is the GOOD silence and the GOOD slow.

An extraordinary visual voyage into a separation with many silences, but almost all the silences are full of expressions and no words are needed, you can feel what the characters are feeling. When there is absence of mouth sounds and music score those moments become absolutely intense.

The pace is slow. The camera becomes an intense dramatic character and does it superbly. The drama is in the way the camera moves –slowly- even in the most inconsequential moments like, for example, when Isa speaks with his mother and his father appears.

Great performances are essential if the film has silence and is slow. Kudos to the Ceylan family, as this film seems to be an outstanding family affair, as Nuri’s wife, Ebru Ceylan is Bahar the female lead, Nuri plays Isa the male lead and Isa’s mother and father are played by Fatma Ceylan and Emin Ceylan, Nuri’s real-life parents. Also Nuri wrote the screenplay.

Cinematography is impeccable and the camera by Gokhan Tiryaki conjures up some remarkable vistas and some impressively detailed close-ups. From the three seasons presented in the story, winter has the most beautiful landscapes.

Seems Mr. Ceylan has a true fan following to his absolutely art house films and his previous films seem to be as interesting as this one, so I will be checking them. French critics compare the level of this film to the best of Bergman or Antonioni … but with a minimalist touch full of sharp irony. Well, I have to agree with them this time!

This movie won the FIPRESCI prize at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Palm. In Turkey has won several awards in different film festivals.

This is not a movie for all audiences. This is for those who believe that cinema can be true art. I’m still speechless!