Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

Name: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Genre: Drama
Released: January 4, 2012
Duration: 150 min
Rating: 82

2012

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Universal acclaim based on 21 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 93 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 93 Ratings

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Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

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Movie Details & Credits

Cinema Guild | Release Date: January 4, 2012 | Not Rated

Summary: Life in a small town is akin to journeying in the middle of the steppes: the sense that "something new and different" will spring up behind every hill, but always unerringly similar, tapering, vanishing or lingering monotonous roads. (NBC Film)

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 150 min

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Critic Reviews

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Mar 16, 2012

With his two early features, "Distant" (2002) and "Climates" (2006), Ceylan has showed himself a superb film-maker. This is his greatest so far. Read full review

100

Liam Lacey

Mar 1, 2012

If the word masterpiece has any use these days, it must apply to the film Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, a mature, philosophically resonant work from Turkey's leading director, 53-year-old Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Climates, Distance, Three Monkeys). Read full review

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Dec 31, 2011

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's mesmerizing Once Upon a Time in Anatolia plays like "Zodiac" meets "Police, Adjective." Read full review

Shawn Levy

Apr 5, 2012

With its wide-open setting and taciturn, macho characters, it's a film that earns the right to use the "Once Upon a Time" title that Sergio Leone made so perversely famous. Read full review

Empire David Parkinson

Mar 12, 2012

Complex and sophisticated, this genre-defying crime story is spellbinding viewing. Read full review

Justin Chang

Dec 31, 2011

Though its glacial pacing will represent a significant hurdle for many viewers, the film grows steadily more involving as dawn breaks and the men make their way back home, and its unflinching observations of the legal and medical establishment at work frequently rivet. Visually, it's as gorgeous a film as Ceylan has made. Read full review

Andrew Schenker

Dec 31, 2011

Nuri Bilge Ceylan has to be the least kinetic of working filmmakers - and not simply in the sense of static camerawork or lack of narrative momentum. Read full review

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User Reviews

Awaraa

Mar 3, 2012

This movie confirms Ceylan as my favorite contemporary director and yet another award at Cannes (co-winner of the Grand Prix) is justly deserved. As with his previous films "Distant," "Climates," and "Three Monkeys," his first career as a photographer is reflected in each scene. He is aThis movie confirms Ceylan as my favorite contemporary director and yet another award at Cannes (co-winner of the Grand Prix) is justly deserved. As with his previous films "Distant," "Climates," and "Three Monkeys," his first career as a photographer is reflected in each scene. He is a master of creating mood and in this film, his technical skills are on full display. What he does with lighting brings to mind the work of Kubrik who also started out as a photographer. Not a movie for people seeking typical Hollywood fare. Ceylan unfolds the story slowly and the "action" is in the characters, their lives, and their stories. By the the last scene fades, you are immersed in the inside emotional world of the characters. Ceylan is not one to hit you over the head to bring attention to a point but gives you credit for being intelligent enough to discover things on your own. The discovery, contemplation and interpretation of the film experience continues long after the last scene fades. What refuses to fade are the indelible images Ceylan has painted on the celluloid canvas. I highly recommend this film to everyone looking for meaning behind the superficial.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

RobertBrogan

Oct 5, 2015

To enjoy Once Upon A Time In Anatolia, the viewer must enjoy policework, in a sense: reading people, making observations, drawing inferences. It is not a film for the passive viewer that wants to be stimulated, entertained. The work is masterful and deserves the acclaim.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Drandy

Oct 15, 2021

This Turkish film, as films go, is long. But when it ended I was left with the wistful "But what comes next?" concerning numerous characters I had come to care about. Virtually every actor in the great ensemble cast was distinctly limned with depth so that they were clearly the centers ofThis Turkish film, as films go, is long. But when it ended I was left with the wistful "But what comes next?" concerning numerous characters I had come to care about. Virtually every actor in the great ensemble cast was distinctly limned with depth so that they were clearly the centers of their own dramas, and not merely bit players in the protagonist's. The film is effortlessly atmospheric, in its use of natural light and darkness, in the sounds of the wind, the cars, the birds. No special effects needed here. It reminds me of my favorite scene from Spielberg's "Jaws," where Captain Quint (played by Robert Shaw) recounts the sinking of the battleship Indianapolis and its aftermath. Lit by a single, swinging, bare bulb, with listeners spellbound, mouths agape. Much of this film has that feel. For a movie with virtually no music, the soundtrack was nonetheless powerful and haunting. Based on only this film, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has vaulted onto my list of great artists, and I cannot wait to see more of his work.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

nutterjr

May 22, 2012

For those that can sit through a 157 minute film of slow pace they will be greatly rewarded with impressive cinematography across some stunning landscapes, superb actors, and a profound, understated script. A subtle allegory from an accomplished filmmaker well worthy of his Cannes awardFor those that can sit through a 157 minute film of slow pace they will be greatly rewarded with impressive cinematography across some stunning landscapes, superb actors, and a profound, understated script. A subtle allegory from an accomplished filmmaker well worthy of his Cannes award for Best Director.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Zarikz

Apr 25, 2021

What are the first words that come to our minds when we hear a murder mystery story? Puzzles? A very charismatic detective and his incredible talent to solve the case and find the murderer? What if we company a real murder suspect to a scene of a crime with a group of experts? This movieWhat are the first words that come to our minds when we hear a murder mystery story? Puzzles? A very charismatic detective and his incredible talent to solve the case and find the murderer? What if we company a real murder suspect to a scene of a crime with a group of experts? This movie will do that for us.
A group of people(the suspect named Kenan, his mentally challenged brother Ramazan, doctor Cemal, Prosecutor Nusret, commissar Naci, drivers, soldiers, two diggers) are after the exact place that the suspect claims he buried the corp. It is impossible to locate it because of the vastness of the region. The suspect cannot remember it, or he can't pay attention and recognizes it immediately. Eighter, it gives us time to company them and see how the reality is shockingly different from fiction.
In each part, we become familiar with the characters. They reveal themselves to each other, mainly because they are exhausted during the infinitive search, which seems without a result. They talk about lots of things. The commissar's concern is mostly his sick kid. One of the young soldiers worries that they are far away from his service location, and it may cause a problem for him. But here, the main focus is on the doctor, suspect, and prosecutor.
Kenan is in great misery. He isn't a genius criminal as usual in the movies. Kenan is not sinister. He is a man who killed another man, and he is afraid. some times he listens to people talking about good dairy, sometimes he falls asleep or dares to ask for a cigarette(because everyone is on edge and frustrated by him)
The prosecutor is physically troubled with his constant need to reveal himself and at mind struggling with one of his older cases about a woman's suicide who predicted the day of her death. He is half present, and he won't interfere until it is inevitable.
The doctor is an observer. He has gone through a divorce, and it seems that he does not simply care that much to be involved more than necessity. After the commissar loses his temper and bits Kenan, they go to a village to take a rest. In that simple house of Mukhtar, the village's mayor, when the power goes off mayor's younger daughter brings light and beverages. In this scene, she enters as a symbol of innocent. She is a pure aspect of life. She is beautiful, and the light of the lantern on her face in that cruel darkness makes a lively scene. It is so pure that Kenan confesses the main reason for his murder and leads them to the correct location. Two parts in this movie demonstrate the reality of these situations in real life. First is when they recognize that they forgot a body bag for the corp, and they don't wait for an ambulance. They put the corp the way that Kenan brought it to the location. In the trunk of a car. The second is in forensic medicine when even the sound effect of the autopsy is plain. It becomes so disturbing to watch and continue because even the color of body parts is life-like. We won't get the mystery or mind-blowing dialogues. We feel the cruelty of the jobs and how people deal with them. It creates questions like it does every time, but we won't get a direct answer like life that doesn't gift us with solutions. No one is a hero, just human beings. They open up, and they break down, and in the end, they go back to their routine life. They can involve just to a certain level and not more. It is Ceylan's art to bring life to the frame. So simple yet so meaningful and deep.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Andys_Reviews

Feb 16, 2013

I first have to say that the film is beautifully shot with some really great imagery showing the bleakness of the landscape and allusions to many of the characters. Even the scenes at night had such great atmosphere; something that doesn’t always come across in film. The only downside wasI first have to say that the film is beautifully shot with some really great imagery showing the bleakness of the landscape and allusions to many of the characters. Even the scenes at night had such great atmosphere; something that doesn’t always come across in film. The only downside was that I had to keep switching to the bottom of the screen to read the subtitles! I found the plot quite unconventional; rather than featuring the procedural investigation; the focus is on the doctor and the prosecutor who stand aside and talk as the search proceeds. This ends up giving an unexpected insight into these two men (I don’t want to say any more spoilers). Even though I found it very long, I also found it quite engrossing and I’m sure if I watched it again at some point I’d find even more to like about it. It does have an extremely slow pace about it, but that’s one of the things I liked; it gives the audience more time to absorb the story and decide for themselves just what it’s about. I enjoyed it very much.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED My score: 8.0/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AmirMHMD

Nov 22, 2019

very very very very very very very very very very very very very very **** great movie

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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