About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) is Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s newest movie and was offered within the Cannes competitors this yr, the place it received the award for Finest Actress. As is the case with Aki Kaurimäki, Ceylan is an outdated favorite of mine, however the operative phrase right here is outdated. I feel that Kaurismäki made a string of masterpieces within the eighties that would even rival his grasp Bresson, and there’s a related case with the Turkish director. Whereas I used to be a significant fan of Ceylan’s early works like Uzak (2002), I’ve discovered his later movies redundant and wallowing in old style (sure, I’m conscious that I’m presupposed to label it Chekhovian) writing mixed with stale arthouse clichés.
When did this tendency start? For me, it was already in 2011 with As soon as Upon a Time in Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da). For all its plastic qualities, I couldn’t escape the script’s clumsiness, notably regarding one facet. Winter Sleep (Kis Uykusu 2014) and The Wild Pear Tree (Ahlat Agaci 2018) merely amplified these reactions, and the latter didn’t even look good with some peculiar color grading. Would About Dry Grasses provide any enchancment? Some folks appear to suppose so, together with the Variety critic. I can’t say that I disagree with him solely. About Dry Grasses has extra to supply than its two predecessors. The query is that if it is sufficient to think about it a profitable movie.
About Dry Grasses: Like watching paint dry?
The storyline is ready in Anatolia, shock, shock. Samet is an artwork instructor assigned to a distant nook of the nation when all he desires is to go to Istanbul. He’s nonetheless fairly in style along with his college students. Possibly a bit too in style? He and his colleague Kenan will later be accused of inappropriate behaviour with their college students. This appears to come up from a single pupil, Sevim, who’s considerably handled as a instructor’s pet and in addition has a love letter confiscated, which everybody appears to conclude is supposed for Samet. When Sevim tries to retrieve the letter, Samet claims that he burned it. Along with Membership Zero, that is the only movie that touches on cancel tradition.
Then there’s the case of fellow instructor Nuray (Merve Di̇zdar, who received the actress award). Samet and Kenan are focused on her, however the former manages to get an evening alone with Maude Nuray. She invitations each of them to her residence, however Samet makes certain that he will probably be alone together with her although we all know that nothing will come out of it in the long term, contemplating he doesn’t need to keep in these distant outskirts of Turkey. What sort of Night time Strikes may we count on from him? Certainly one of them entails juicing, Larry David fashion, in a scene that might make Bergman of En Ardour blush. Sometimes, partitions are simply drywall, even of the fourth variety.
It wasn’t troublesome to foretell that About Dry Grasses can be chosen for the Cannes competitors. A last verdict on the movie is extra tough. Despite the fact that it comprises far too many Ceylanisms for its personal good, there’s nonetheless a good quantity of grass that isn’t utterly dry. Certain, there aren’t as many because the director appears to suppose, and there are nonetheless some awkward results within the cinematography, not least the interiors. The depictions of the protagonist’s images aren’t that profound both, although these scenes sometimes made the Lumière viewers gasp in the course of the permière screening. About Dry Grasses is much less egregious than the 2 predecessors, however the actress award was greater than sufficient.
Clearly, the 197-minute operating time may have been trimmed significantly with out dropping something substantial, however that goes with out saying with Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Rewatching a wintry Rohmer movie as an alternative wouldn’t be a foul wager. Nonetheless, I go away the reader with the teaser of the movie, which is kind of flattering.
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