Climates - Iklimler (2006)

Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

A masterpiece.

A couple, Isa and Bahar face the chill winter of discontent in their relationship but find it tough to let go, a stalemate, a wall that neither can or are willing to break through told with the minimum of dialogue but expressed with deep resonance by the oft shown close-ups of their faces.

Magnificently shot from the first frame to the last, beautifully composed and paced, this will be without doubt one of the cinematic highlights of the year. From the initial break up of the relationship in sweltering heat of Kas, through Isa's furtive affair in the thunder, lightning and incessant rain of Istanbul, to the snow covered city of Doubeyazit where several chances of some sort of reconciliation or at least to clear the air between the couple are snubbed by each in turn.

This is a truly impressive piece of work that burrows deep into your soul, recognisable and utterly agonizing. Beautiful to behold but emotionally painful.

If one of the signs of a good film is wishing it could have gone for longer then Climates is truly a masterpiece, I felt as though we were around half way through the running time and it was suddenly over, leaving me wanting so much more.

There is a question Id like to raise though, I noticed both in Climates and in the German production Krisana, the constant barking of unseen dogs during most stages of the film, is there some oblique and/or metaphorical reasoning behind this?

A definite must see film in my opinion.

Cheers Trev. 

R2 dvd will be released by Artificial Eye in May.