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Uzak
or the ordinary life
Through the experience of sharing an apartment in Istanbul, the realisator Nuri B. Ceylan uses this nice excuse to show the Turkey's struggle for his entrance in the European economy bloc. A cousin coutryman (Yusuf), short of work, moves to the great city of Istanbul to find a job. He settles in Mamhut's place, a photographer. The two of them, rapidly, realise they are quite different in almost every manner. One is characterized by his rural, naive and simplistic approach, made of charming tricks or disgracious manners; on the other hand, Mamhut puts an emphasis on individualism and perfectionism (to the extent of being close to intolerance), and his career, although he tends to be to much egotistic and snubbish. It's clear there is an attempt to describe the Turkish contemporary evolution, torn between the comforting past made of an old lifestyle in the countryside (shephards' life in the valleys) and the monuments of an architectural history (the Ste-Sophie cathedral as well as the minarets that single out themselves in the horizon), and the actual competition of a world involved the demanding global economy. Regarding the presentation of the story and the characters, a confrontation is to be expected. Fortunately, the director doesn't follow the Hollywood path by exaggerating their opposition to the point of getting a spectacular fight between the two of them. As a matter of fact, the tension is slowly constructed alongside with little gestures and sophisticated mental reactions that show how nicely the minimalistic angle is used. Thanks again to the director for not falling in the manicheism demonstration. It is more interesting to see real human beings trying to understand their qualities and flaws, as it is the case in the real life than witnessing an hysterical and exaggerated crisis that has no point.
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