In Film Criticism series, we discuss what is meant in movies. This series includes film reviews than film proposals. Of course you may want to see and watch the movies in these series. But do not forget that these articles contain Spoilers.
Previous posts:
- Film Criticism : The Help - Well intentioned superficiality
- Film Criticism : The Lobster - Social Pressure
- Film Criticism : Jeanne Dielman - Silent Scream
One Upun a Time in Anatolia directed and written by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Film telling a murder investigation in a half day. Yeah, whole film is just one half day. Kenan has committed an unidentified murder. He confessed his murder to the police officer. Then Naci, Prosecutor Nusret, Doctor Cemal and the security officers who helped them, went to search for corpse. They search it whole night but they didn't find it. After a long night, they went to a village. In next they, they found it. They make an autopsy and finish the investigation. In this night, everyone has change. No one will stay same afther that night.
Film begins with all characters looking for a corpse. A quest has begun In the darkness of the night and maybe it will last forever. In fact, this quest has turned into a quest for finding themselfs. The characters asking themselfes that why are we here ? what are we doing? why we have to live these lifes ? But they couldn't find the answers even when they finished the investigation. All of these Anatolian characters are almost same expec ''urban'' Doctor Cemal. Although we see all the characters together at the beginning of film. We see that the main character of the film is Doctor Cemal. Cemal is an intellectual character who has had a failed marriage and yougn from the others. From the very beginning of the events, we can clearly see the dark sides of all the characters. But Cemal is covering himself very well.
The apple scene in the film was the outline for the film. This scene showing us what Turkish director want to tell us. The greedy Arab Ali is always doing what he does and is attacking the apple tree with hunger. He shook the appe tree for just an apple. So many apples have fallen by the tree because of this. An apple from among them starts to roll. This rolled apple represents Cemal. The apple rolls down a river. The river represents time. The apple drifts in the river and slows down with a healthy hand. This apple also represents the wife of Cemal who has had a failed marriage. The apple passes by the healthy handman and continues to ramp up in the river. On the last radd, he comes to three rotten apple hands and stoped there. These three rotten apples represent three other side roles. One of them is Prosecutor Nusret. One of them Commissar Naci and last of them Suspect Kenan.
When we look at film in general, it is the only rotten apples we see. Each character has his own decorum. When we examine the film's atmosphere, we see how harmonious it is with the characters. The steppe lands of Anatolia where nothing is planted are unproductive and unhealthy like a rotten apple. The characters that grow in this atmosphere are no different from the rotten apples.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan uses American Dark film Structure in Anatolia. He used various technical forms such as light used, shadow games, dark atmosphere, wet floors. The director has successfully demonstrated the despair of the steppe and the darkness. The director has successfully portrayed the despair of the steppe. Cemal believes that the child can be truly indulgent when he sees the comfort and the movement of the wife of the dying man after observing all the bruises towards the end of film. At that time the otopside dumped the man from his lungs, which means the killer buried the man alive. Maybe this killer will cause the crime to be aggravated and life imprisoned. The child he observes will live with his father as long as he dies, and perhaps he will turn into a rotten apple just because of this. For the sake of the fatherless growth of the child, Cemil covers the land that comes out from the autopsy and become a rotten apples. The most important feature of rotten apples is that they will comsume fresh apples. Cemal is now condemned to rot in this dark steppe of Anatolia, with corrupt and rotten people ...