Sorry, this movie sucks

I'll tell you why so serious

Good movie but grossly overrated

Blistering performances.

I agree with the critics that have compared it to something like an epic Russian novel with its penetrating observations on the human condition and philosophical musings. The film deals with a whole host of issues like pride, how we create our own prison, how we protect ourselves through self-deception, how ego can fuel seemingly charitable motivations, how we can suffocate others through good intentions, generational divisions, the notion of resisting evil in order to bring out the good in others (which sparks a darkly humorous debate among the characters).I found the film to be very shrewdly written in how it constantly reinforced certain character traits in different contexts. As I stated before, the character of Aydin (even while instructing others that the road to hell is paved with good intentions) likes to justify himself with his good intentions and doesn't want to mislead people: he defers the tenant to his partner about the debt, he's always reading his articles on potentially touchy issues to his sister for feedback, and even little things like the way he expresses uncertainty to the client about the Omar Sharif movie that was filmed in the area and how he examines the pictures on his website after the client asks about the horses at the hotel (the horse being captured and subsequently set free was also a nice touch of symbolism).

I read some reviews below and ı am surprised. people say that conversations are meanless and long etc... This kind of criticism and comments make no sense. This is not a Hollywood movie which characters say everything directly just because films like these are making for teenage minded people. I mean sometimes you can not say what you want to. sometimes you use long path to home... moreover dialogs are serving the philosophy of movie. This movie is the best of Nuri Bilge's, about ego and contrasts between arrogance-virtue. You can also thing about your attitudes, this film makes you to do so. Main characters's (Aydin) last words are impressive, with these words film having a emotional and touching side. A good movie for people who like thinking about themselves

Reasonably engaging but slow and seemingly interminable.A man, Aydin (played by Haluk Bilginer) and his wife run a small hotel in a small village in central Anatolia, Turkey. The movie examines the relationships between Aydin and some of the other people in the village, and how these relationships change.Fairly engaging - you do feel for Aydin in his various predicaments. However, the movie is ponderously slow and, at over three hours, incredibly long. This tests your commitment and engagement, and ultimately the movie is quite dull. Is it too much to ask to move things along at something other than snail's pace, and to wrap it up quicker?

I admit I have had high hopes for this one. I have like some of the stories of the Ceylan family. And I have appreciated the technical side of all their movies.This one is slow. Much slower than the others. And, pretty much like the other successful European teams, the Ceylans have bigger and bigger budgets. Which have to be explained. This way you get a lot of outdoor scenes that have no value, including the first frames, and quite a few of driving scenes also with no value.About an hour into the movie and I was wondering what am I doing in the room? I thought about asking my money back. But the power of "what if" was stronger. At the two hour mark my butt was hurting. And the story was getting worse.In the end the best part of this movie is getting outside and being able to move.So far, this is the worst Ceylans script. Almost every scene is explained after the action. You could guess some of the explanations, which makes the continuation of those particular scenes redundant. Other scenes remain cryptic, probably some Turkish custom badly explained.All I am left after wasting three hours is a shapeless mash. Is it about religion? Religion pops into the story in a pointless way that might mean meaningful message. But there is no religion in the end. Is it about the Turkish folk? But the folk are badly represented. Is it about Turkish intelligentsia? But they are also badly represented. Is it about education in Turkey? About a brother and a sister? About a wife and her much older husband? At the three hour mark the film or hard drive runs out. You get a regular cast and crew list on screen. But is it really over? This is a movie about everything. It ends up about nothing. But that is enough to seduce some juries.Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch