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Climate Control

Rocky Raccoon | Boise, ID | 06/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Turkey's 'Climates' conveys its message well. Taking its time to unfold like many foreign movies, the film nevertheless has quiet, authentic power. Writer/director Nuri Bilge Ceylan stars as Isla, a man who has an on-again, off-again relationship with Bahar (played with real and rounded emotion by his real wife Ebru Ceylan). He's a professor of architecture in Istanbul, and she's a TV series star. (He focuses upon the ancient ruins, and she has a very modern role in an emerging feminist way.) He tries to woo her as she flees from him, seeming to be miserable in his company. Much of the film shows her looking at Isla with the camera out of focus. She seems to have to rely on herself for happiness that often eludes her grasp. He's middle aged, and she's merely a mature adult. After they fight during dinner at a friend's house, they decide to separate. Then, he constantly comes back to her looking for some sort of reconciliation as she listens with a far away look in her eyes.

'Climates' is one of the many foreign movies that requires patience from its audience. The revelations are subtle, but the performances are convincing with actors who show great emotions boiling below the surface. One key lovemaking scene explains much as it shows a confrontation that is sickening to watch, but it says a great deal about Isla, who amidst his culture mirrored by his colleague friend, regard women like possessions. Watching Bahar's transformation between joy and sadness is the the real revelation; one that makes a serious statement about the difference between real love and possessive infatuation. The acting is excellent, revealing a great deal about men and women with evolving roles in a world growing out of the ruins of ancient culture."

Love Gets You Twisted

Liam Wilshire | Portland, OR | 07/25/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is no question that in Nuri Bilge Ceylan we are seeing a first-rate filmmaker in the prime of his career. His many influences have each found their place in his work: with DISTANT, and now CLIMATES, we are seeing original works that transcend the masters that inspired them.

Those predecessors: Antonioni, Bresson, Tati, and above all, Tarkovsky, are all champions of the long take. Of those, only Tati was able to act in his own work and maintain control (and let's not forget how ABSENT Tati was from the later, superior, Hulot films). I bring this up because Ceylan--a formidable actor and charismatic on-camera presence--does not quite succeed, here, in controlling the pace of ALL his long takes. The fact that some shots work very well is impressive, but a filmmaker this good ought to have everything working at all times. And, alas, not everything does. Not, at least, in every shot in which he is present.

Still, there is much to be prized in this evocation of love as one of many situations in life that, quite simply, leaves you helpless and stupid.

There is a scene in a television production van in which Ceylan, as Asa, is pouring his heart out to his girlfriend. Each time he comes to something profoundly personal, one or another of the many crew members enter the van to deposit equipment. It is a painfully funny and perfectly played scene. It is so good, it alone would make this film worth watching.

God willing, this director will be with us for quite a while. His being Turkish does not help when it comes to his getting the recognition he deserves. But watch this guy, because he is one of the greats in the making."

At times hard to watch

Gogol | England | 02/13/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After being highly impressed with the film Uzak I was looking forward to watching this one. The film is based around a crumbling relationship between husband and wife. The husband being somewhat older than his wife and previously involved in an extra marital affair. The film begins with the couple on holiday, the intensity is tangible from the very off as both parties seem to be more awaiting the moment when they should leave each other but delay it on the pretext of a "well you first"

The relationship crumbles and they both go their separate ways, the husband to the woman who he had a relationship with the wife, to her work in a TV company.

The film is dark, at many times depressing as it examines the collapse and reconstruction of a relationship. Ceylan has hit upon a recipe that many French directors try at but fail miserably. He depicts realism through his lack of extra background lighting, music and minimal dialect. It brings the viewer into the film, makes the viewer care about the characters, sympathise with them and examine the film. French films try hard at this but end up with pointless sex scenes and even more pointless dialect that just bores and annoys the viewer.

Recomended but not as good as Uzak."

Subtle masterpiece

maciora | Burbank, CA United States | 07/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I cannot recommend this film highly enough.
Extraordinarily beautiful photography compliment a pacing which allows the viewer to absorb the rich details. There is an intense effort to capture the elusive quality of realizations which are being sensed in a confused present.

Too often we see the drama of relationships being tested, elevated intensities highlighting the struggle to change or remain unchanged. It's less common to see characters struggle quietly with the dawning recognition that there is a bankruptcy in their affection. A couple, Bahar and her older partner Isa on vacation in a coastal town in Turkey, face the painful disintegration of their relationship. The performances which bring this delicate state to the surface are all the more remarkable since they are played by the filmmaker and his wife.

The painful inability to function in a relationship, either from one's emotional atrophy or because one has outgrown that union but can't see it, is at the core of the film. The actors play this out with great sympathy avoiding simple answers. While little happens in terms of action, both characters attempt to move forward with their lives, their choices often outpacing the growth of their knowledge.

Of note is a small performance by Nazan Kirilmis who plays Serap, one of Isa's former lovers in Istanbul. While her presence in the film is brief it's terrific casting, coloring the film's quiet tone and adding a small flash of fire to the story. Not only does this aid in the films dynamic structure, it helps to clarify Isa's ambivalence, grounding Bahar's pain in real terms.

I've watched the film several times, marveling at the storytelling economy, the photography and the performances.
I highly recommend this film."