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DVD Talk (Free subscription) | 11/14/2009
Recommended The Film: What do we think of when we hear the phrase "three monkeys"? Most would probably invoke the image of three monkeys sitting in a row, one with hands clasped over his mouth, one with hands clasped over his ears, and one with hands clasped over his eyes. It's become a symbol that means ignoring something or sweeping it under the rug, feigning ignorance to its existence...
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AniPages Daily (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
Nothing blew me away at the VIFF this year like Tropical Manila did in 2008 and Secret Sunshine did in 2007, but I did see some good films this time around, as always. And as always, there were a ton of films that I wanted to see but just couldn't get around to seeing, either because I was pooped from watching so many films, or from scheduling overlaps. It's fun for two weeks to cram films, but after...
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The One-Line Review (Free subscription) | 09/15/2009
Turkey Feature Film Original Title: Mayis sikintisi Writer/Director/Cinematographer: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Cast: Muzaffer Özdemir, Emin Toprak, Emin Ceylan, Muhammad Zimbaoglu, Fatma Ceylan, Sadik Incesu Clouds of May is the second part of Ceylan’s loose, loosely autobiographical trilogy, following the majestic Kasaba (1997) and preceding the exquisite Uzak (2002) , which sees - very much in...
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The One-Line Review (Free subscription) | 09/15/2009
Turkey Feature Film Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Writers: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Emin Ceylan Cinematographer: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Composer: Ali Kayaci Cast: Cihat Bütün, Emin Ceylan, Fatma Ceylan, Muzaffer Özdemir, Havva Saglam, Emin Toprak Ceylan’s visually ravishing feature debut, set in his provincial hometown, featuring numerous members of his family both in front of and behind the...
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The One-Line Review (Free subscription) | 07/26/2009
Turkey Feature Film Writer/Director/Cinematographer: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Cast: Muzaffer Özdemir, Emin Toprak There are allusions to Tarkovsky throughout Ceylan’s Cannes favourite - a beautifully moving and subtly witty exploration of the disparate ways in which we manage to build barriers between ourselves and those around us - but its tone and content are perhaps closer in spirit to the bitter-sweet...
5Vote!
Film for the Soul (Free subscription) | 07/23/2009
Once again, with the year coming to a close, we're starting to wrap things up with Joe Bowman's, of the excellent Fin de Cinema , definitive list of all the year's winners. Cannes, held 14-25 May 2003 Palme d'Or : Elephant [d. Gus Van Sant] Grand Prix : Uzak (Distant) [d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan] Prix du jury: At Five in the Afternoon [d. Samira Makhmalbaf] Best Director : Gus Van Sant - Elephant Best Actor...
Explore : Cinema,
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Omar Sharif,
Patrice Chéreau,
Sam Rockwell,
Sean Penn,
Spike Jonze,
Takeshi Kitano,
Toronto
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Fin de Cinema (Free subscription) | 07/21/2009
Of the releases below, it's worth noting that TLA has started announcing DVDs again after this news came out a few months ago. It's also nice to know that Criterion won't be wasting their time on a Chasing Amy Blu-ray, as Miramax has just set a date for it. DVD - Classic Educational Shorts, Vols. 1 and 2: How to Be a Man / How to Be a Woman , 1948-1982, d. Various, Kino, 6 October - The Gate , 1987,...
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Fin de Cinema (Free subscription) | 07/17/2009
After a much needed break from The Decade List , I'm returning to it tonight (though only for the list-making part). It wasn't the project itself that wore me out as much as just films in general. I haven't been keeping up on any of my viewings or writings, but I feel like I'm slowly getting out of that slump. I'm going to be playing catch-up on the years and films, so excuse the untidiness. Here is...
Explore : Annie Lennox,
Cannes Film Festival,
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Denys Arcand,
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Omar Sharif,
Robert Altman,
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Takeshi Kitano,
Toronto
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Talking Pictures (Free subscription) | 07/16/2009
A striking Turkish film noir, “Three Monkeys” takes its title from the bit generally ascribed to Confucius about seeing, hearing and speaking no evil. It is the latest eyeful from director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, one of a handful of international...
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The Independent (Free subscription) | 07/05/2009
A politician bribes his driver to take the fall for a hit'n'run; then conducts an affair with the dupe's wife while he's in chokey; then decides he wants nothing more to do with her. End result: no one's happy in Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's drama that netted him Best Director at Cannes. No one? No, not even viewers – too many seemingly endless scenes of staring into darkness take the...
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DVD Times (Free subscription) | 07/01/2009
DVD Video Review: Nuri Bilge Ceylan leaves behind the moody melancholy of his previous work for a tense thriller that nevertheless still retains his signature themes and marvellous cinematography.
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Flavorpill San Francisco Events (Free subscription) | 06/26/2009
June 26 – July 2 Daily @ Sundance Kabuki Cinema Visual catchphrases borrowed from Lynch, Bergman, and Billy Wilder get a thoroughly modern treatment in the Turkish noir Three Monkeys , a terse family drama framed by a hazy gloom that sticks to each character like a bad curse. A series of deep (literally and figuratively), disorienting, and ominously radiant shots depict a politician's vehicular...
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Miami Herald (Free subscription) | 06/18/2009
Turkey's Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the best director prize at Cannes last year for this tense, poetic neonoir. A politician kills a pedestrian in a hit-and-run accident. He bribes his chauffeur to take the rap, and the man goes to prison for a year. The driver hopes this pact with the devil will benefit his overworked wife and his teenage son, who is running with a rough crowd.