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The other week I saw Where's Firuse?,
an oppressively raucous Turkish comedy about the pop business in Istanbul,
which was so bad I left after 90 minutes and did not bother reviewing
it. Also set in Istanbul, Uzak - (Turkish for 'distant') which last year
brought its director and two central actors (both non-professionals) awards
at Cannes - could scarcely be more different.
It's a minimal, quiet film, with very little dialogue, its expressive
shots carefully framed and long held, in which a divorced photographer
provides reluctant hospitality at his smart flat to a young cousin from
the countryside.
The older man seems to have abandoned his earlier idealism for commercial
success. The cousin lost his job when a factory that supported most people
in his town was closed in a recession. Now he aims to get a job in the
merchant marine and settle abroad, though he goes about this search lackadaisically
and overstays his welcome.
This is a contemplative picture about loneliness, alienation and the death
of community life. But it's not without humour. In one delightful scene
the photographer establishes his superiority over his peasant cousin by
watching a video of Tarkovsky's Stalker. When the bored young man goes
to bed, he replaces the highbrow film with a piece of lesbian porn. When
the cousin suddenly comes back into the living room, he rapidly switches
over to a channel showing a tedious Turkish comedy - which bores both
of them.
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