Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Encyclopedia
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is a 2011 Turkish drama film, co-written and directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
based on the true experience of one of the film's writers, telling the story of a group of men who search for a dead body on the Anatolia
n steppe. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival
where it was a co-winner of the Grand Prix
. The film has been selected as Turkey's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
in search of a body buried under an unknown location.The killer leads the police officer from one fountain to another because at the time of the crime he was intoxicated thus he can not recall specifically where he and his mentally challenged brother buried the body.Anatolian steppes' similarity and indistinguishable physical appearance does not help the killer nor the policeman in their quest because every fountain they arrive is pretty much same with the prior one.
During their mission Turkish men interact with each other under varying topics such as yoghurt, lamb chops, urination, family, spouses, ex-wives, death, suicide, hierarchy, bureaucracy, moral ethics, past, their jobs and especially about themselves behind each others back with a smile on their face and confess or imply secrets also things they feel guilty most about their personal lives.
Before dawn the district attorney gets hungry so the group drops by at a nearby village to eat and drink.After the meal the killer confesses his purpose of the murder -the victims son was actually his and after he slipped that secret from his mouth, things got ugly- and whereabouts of the body.
The sun comes up, the body is discovered and taken to the state mortuary.The police leaves after the discovery, the D.A. invites victims wife to identify the body in the morgue women replies "Yes" the first and only word spoken by a female in the whole movie. Than he files necessary paperwork and leaves the corpse to the doctor for regular autopsy process.When they cut up the body, soil is visible in throat and lungs but the doctor intentionally does not put that evidence on record which proves that the victim was buried alive, may help the offenders getting away with smaller charges.The doctor watches the widower and her son through the window with blood of the victim on his face, the movie ends.
grew up in a small town similar to the one in the film in terms of mentality and hierarchy, and says he feels a close connection to the characters depicted. The story is based on real events. One of Ceylan's co-writers was an actual doctor, and, in order to attain his license, had been required to work for two years in the town where the plot is set. The story in the film is based on very similar events the co-writer experienced during this period. The title of the film references Sergio Leone
's film Once Upon a Time in the West
, and was something one of the drivers uttered during the actual events. When writing the screenplay, the filmmakers tried to be as realistic as possible, and the main aim was to portray the special atmosphere, which had left a strong impression on the doctor. At one point in the film the realism seemingly breaks, as one of the characters sees a ghost; according to Ceylan however the ghost only appears in a dream, and "dreams are part of life, they are realistic elements." A number of quotations from stories by Anton Chekhov
were also incororated in the script.
The film was produced through Turkey's Zeyno Film, in co-production with the Bosnian company Production2006 Sarajevo, and the Turkish companies NBC Film, 1000 Volt Post Production, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
, Imaj and Fida Film. Filming took place during eleven weeks around Keskin
, a district of the Kırıkkale Province
in Central Anatolia
. It was shot in the CinemaScope
format.
on 21 May. The Turkish premiere was on 21 September 2011 at the 18th International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival
. The film was released in regular theatres two days later.
The film received the Cannes Film Festival's second most prestigious award, the Grand Prix
, in a shared win with the film The Kid with a Bike
by the Dardenne brothers
.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a Turkish photographer and film director. He is married to the filmmaker, photographer, and actress Ebru Ceylan, his co-star in İklimler .-Life:Ceylan learned photography at age 15, and developed an interest in film at 22....
based on the true experience of one of the film's writers, telling the story of a group of men who search for a dead body on the Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n steppe. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival
2011 Cannes Film Festival
The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 11 to May 22, 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition...
where it was a co-winner of the Grand Prix
Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)
The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...
. The film has been selected as Turkey's official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
Plot
A group of men including a police officer, a doctor, a district attorney, drivers, civil servants, grave diggers, gendarmerie forces and two homicide offender brothers drive through on rural Anatolian steppes in a single night at a town named KeskinKeskin
Keskin is a town and district of Kırıkkale Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 59,150 of which 34,827 live in the town of Keskin.-External links:*...
in search of a body buried under an unknown location.The killer leads the police officer from one fountain to another because at the time of the crime he was intoxicated thus he can not recall specifically where he and his mentally challenged brother buried the body.Anatolian steppes' similarity and indistinguishable physical appearance does not help the killer nor the policeman in their quest because every fountain they arrive is pretty much same with the prior one.
During their mission Turkish men interact with each other under varying topics such as yoghurt, lamb chops, urination, family, spouses, ex-wives, death, suicide, hierarchy, bureaucracy, moral ethics, past, their jobs and especially about themselves behind each others back with a smile on their face and confess or imply secrets also things they feel guilty most about their personal lives.
Before dawn the district attorney gets hungry so the group drops by at a nearby village to eat and drink.After the meal the killer confesses his purpose of the murder -the victims son was actually his and after he slipped that secret from his mouth, things got ugly- and whereabouts of the body.
The sun comes up, the body is discovered and taken to the state mortuary.The police leaves after the discovery, the D.A. invites victims wife to identify the body in the morgue women replies "Yes" the first and only word spoken by a female in the whole movie. Than he files necessary paperwork and leaves the corpse to the doctor for regular autopsy process.When they cut up the body, soil is visible in throat and lungs but the doctor intentionally does not put that evidence on record which proves that the victim was buried alive, may help the offenders getting away with smaller charges.The doctor watches the widower and her son through the window with blood of the victim on his face, the movie ends.
Cast
- Muhammet Uzuner as Doctor Cemal
- Yılmaz ErdoğanYilmaz ErdoganYılmaz Erdoğan is a Turkish filmmaker, actor and poet, who is most famous for his box-office record-breaking debut comedy film Vizontele and the television series Bir Demet Tiyatro ....
as Commissar Naci - Taner BirselTaner BirselTaner Birsel is a Turkish film actor. He has appeared in twelve films since 1995. He starred in The Confession, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival....
as Prosecutor Nusret - Ahmet Mümtaz TaylanAhmet Mümtaz TaylanAhmet Mümtaz Taylan is a Turkish film, television and theatre actor and director.- Biography :Taylan graduated in theatre from Hacettepe University State Conservatory. Between 1989 and 1993, he worked at the Diyarbakır State Theatre. In 1993 and 1994, he worked with Roberto Ciulli at the Theatre...
as Chauffeur Arap Ali - Fırat Tanış as Suspect Kenan
- Ercan Kesal as Mukhtar
- Cansu Demirci as Mukhtar's Daughter
- Erol Eraslan as Murder Victim Yaşar
- Uğur Arslanoğlu as Courthouse Driver Tevfik
- Murat Kılıç as Police Officer İzzet
- Şafak Karali as Courthouse Clerk Abidin
- Emre Şen as Sergeant Önder
- Burhan Yıldız as Suspect Ramazan
- Nihan Okutucu as Yaşar's wife Gülnaz
Production
Director Nuri Bilge CeylanNuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a Turkish photographer and film director. He is married to the filmmaker, photographer, and actress Ebru Ceylan, his co-star in İklimler .-Life:Ceylan learned photography at age 15, and developed an interest in film at 22....
grew up in a small town similar to the one in the film in terms of mentality and hierarchy, and says he feels a close connection to the characters depicted. The story is based on real events. One of Ceylan's co-writers was an actual doctor, and, in order to attain his license, had been required to work for two years in the town where the plot is set. The story in the film is based on very similar events the co-writer experienced during this period. The title of the film references Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
's film Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda cast against type as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards as a bandit, and Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader with a...
, and was something one of the drivers uttered during the actual events. When writing the screenplay, the filmmakers tried to be as realistic as possible, and the main aim was to portray the special atmosphere, which had left a strong impression on the doctor. At one point in the film the realism seemingly breaks, as one of the characters sees a ghost; according to Ceylan however the ghost only appears in a dream, and "dreams are part of life, they are realistic elements." A number of quotations from stories by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
were also incororated in the script.
The film was produced through Turkey's Zeyno Film, in co-production with the Bosnian company Production2006 Sarajevo, and the Turkish companies NBC Film, 1000 Volt Post Production, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, also known as TRT , is the national public broadcaster of Turkey and was founded in 1964. Around 70% of TRT's funding comes from a tax levied on electricity bills and a sales tax on television and radio receivers...
, Imaj and Fida Film. Filming took place during eleven weeks around Keskin
Keskin
Keskin is a town and district of Kırıkkale Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 59,150 of which 34,827 live in the town of Keskin.-External links:*...
, a district of the Kırıkkale Province
Kirikkale Province
Kırıkkale Province is a province of Turkey. It is located on the crossroads of major highways east of Ankara leading east to the Black Sea region. With its rapid population growth it has become an industrial center. The provincial capital is Kırıkkale....
in Central Anatolia
Central Anatolia Region
The Central Anatolia Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions.- Provinces :Total population: 12,105,975* Aksaray Province* Ankara Province* Çankırı Province* Eskişehir Province* Karaman Province* Kayseri Province...
. It was shot in the CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
format.
Release
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival2011 Cannes Film Festival
The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 11 to May 22, 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition...
on 21 May. The Turkish premiere was on 21 September 2011 at the 18th International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival
18th International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival
The 18th International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival was a film festival held in Adana, Turkey from September 17 to 25, 2011. Cash prizes totalling 936,000 Turkish Liras, the highest amount given by a film festival in Turkey, were awarded for all catagories, for the first time in Turkey, in...
. The film was released in regular theatres two days later.
Reception
Dave Calhoun reviewed the film for Time Out London: "Ceylan is a sly and daring screen artist of the highest order and should draw wild praise with this new film for challenging both himself and us, the audience, with this lengthy, rigorous and masterly portrait of a night and day in the life of a murder investigation[.]" Calhoun compared the film to the director's previous works and noted how it to a lesser extent follows genre conventions: "Displaying a new interest in words and story (albeit of the most elusive kind), Once Upon A Time in Anatolia feels like a change of direction for Ceylan and may disappoint those who were especially attracted to the urbane melancholia of Uzak and Climates. ... Beyond being chronological, the film follows no obvious storytelling pattern. Things happen when they do and at a natural rhythm. ... Ceylan invites us along for the ride – but only if we're up for it."The film received the Cannes Film Festival's second most prestigious award, the Grand Prix
Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)
The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...
, in a shared win with the film The Kid with a Bike
The Kid with a Bike
The Kid with a Bike is a 2011 drama film written and directed by the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, starring Cécile de France and Thomas Doret. Set in Seraing, it tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who turns to a woman after his father has abandoned him. The film was produced...
by the Dardenne brothers
Dardenne brothers
Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne are a Belgian filmmaking duo...
.
See also
- 2011 in film2011 in filmThe year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :...
- Cinema of TurkeyCinema of TurkeyTurkish cinema is an important part of Turkish culture, and has flourished over the years, delivering entertainment to audiences in Turkey, expatriates across Europe, and in rare cases, the USA....
- Turkish films of 2011Turkish films of 2011A list of films produced by the Turkish film industry in Turkey in 2011.-Highest-grossing films:-Events:JanuaryA list of films produced by the Turkish film industry in Turkey in 2011.-Highest-grossing films:-Events:January...
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Turkish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film