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Distant
Jonathan Curiel, San Fransisco Chronicle (USA), 30
April 2004
Lives of quiet desperation -- the sort of lives that
Henry David Thoreau referred to so famously in "Walden" -- are
put under a microscope in "Distant," a minimalist drama that
takes its mood from Turkey's wintry terrain and the uneasy relationship
between two bullheaded cousins.
Mahmut (Muzaffer Ozdemir) and Yusuf (Mehmet Emin Toprak) seem to be exact
opposites. While the older Mahmut is a professionally established photographer
who lives by himself in a comfortable Istanbul apartment, Yusuf is undereducated,
underemployed (just fired from a factory job), and still dependent on
his village -- until he imposes himself on Mahmut, who reluctantly takes
him in.
Yusuf dreams of getting a high-paying job on a ship that docks in Istanbul,
but he quickly learns how difficult it will be. As the film progresses,
we learn how difficult Mahmut's life is. He may have achieved a level
of material success, but his life is filled with loneliness (TV is his
nighttime crutch), and all his relationships with women (including his
sister) are empty. He can't even express his true feelings to an ex-partner
who gives him several chances before she moves away to Canada.
Awkward moments of silence and scenes of dialogue-free action (such as
Yusuf following a beautiful woman) fill up the screen early on -- and
will test the patience of those eager to see more fluid or maniacal events.
But "Distant" is a study in internal combustion and places a
premium on the actors' expressions as much as their actions. (Ozdemir
and Toprak shared a best-acting award at Cannes.) Mahmut's restlessness
-- about his career, his need for porn and prostitutes, his inability
to be frank with loved ones -- permeates his life. Mahmut's only real
outlet is his art, but even that is evidently compromised.
Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has made a semi-autobiographical movie about
the isolated way that people live in cities and the distance that people
put between themselves and others. "Distant" has droll moments
of humor and a succession of sumptuously shot scenes (both indoors and
out, including one showing a grand mosque at dusk). Unwanted guests have
a benefit: They can remind us of our own dislikes and vulnerabilities,
and help us come to terms (or not) with them.
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