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With minimal dialogue, a haunting
musical score, and a barely there story line, "Distant" explores
the parameters of loneliness with an edgy humor reminiscent of Sofia Coppola’s
"Lost in Translation."
A relatively successful photographer and loner extraordinaire, Mahmut,
exists within the confines of his roomy Istanbul apartment and studio,
married to solitary habits that border on obsessive-compulsive. His orderly
existence is shaken by the unexpected intrusion of Yusuf, a distant relative
from Mahmut’s small home town, who hopes to land a job on a ship, insuring
world travel and escape from the economic hardships back home.
At first Mahmut’s hospitality is genuine though guarded toward this near
stranger but eventually his cousin’s rural hygiene habits (read incredibly
smelly shoes and sparse untidy wardrobe) and hick naivete grate on Mahmut’s
nerves. It doesn’t help that Yusuf’s job search is going nowhere and he
is spending his days chasing a beautiful
neighborhood woman.
This unlikely duo never seems able to find common ground. Mahmut seems
the villain at first; not even able to share a porn video with his cousin
in one of the film’s comedic moments. Mahmut’s entire life is a study
in isolation. He ignores phone messages from his mother, cannot bring
closure to his newly married ex-wife and even seems to prefer photographing
still life objects.
Written, directed and photographed by native Turk Nuri Bilge Ceylan, "Distant"
reiterates its theme of isolation in every scene. Indeed, even Mahmut’s
sexual encounter with his girlfriend (or is she a prostitute?) is filmed
post-coitus, with the female image totally blurred as Mahmut is rising
from the bed, never showing any intimacy between the two. Ceylan allows
the audience to only witness Mahmut as he is cutting off human contact.
He is also alone on the bench, looking out at the sea, his grizzled face
in close-up with the blowing debris occasionally entering the frame. And
in the film’s final moments, when we think he is about to approach his
ex-wife with some final eloquent goodbye, ending his long silence, Mahmut
loses his nerve and never even ventures from behind his spying partition.
While Mahmut’s aloneness seems a choice, his cousin Yusuf appears to be
doomed by his lack of urban savvy. Unable to find a job, make friends
or meet the girl next door, Yusuf ‘s visit becomes, in the end, a frustrating
experience, punctuated by his intolerant relative. Like Oscar and Felix,
they are a mismatched duo who sadly cannot coexist.
A festival favorite, "Distant" received the Grand Prix at Cannes,
while Ozdemir and Toprak (who has since died in a car accident) shared
the Cannes Best Actor award. With a theme that resonates with a human
universality, "Distant" bridges the language/culture gap that
sometimes limits the appeal of a foreign film. Its setting could be anywhere,
its characters could be anyone and its portrait of solitude is a picture
common to all mankind? making "Distant" a not-to-be-missed cinematic
feast.
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