To me, this movie is perfection.

Nice effects though.

Fresh and Exciting

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The "Three Monkeys" of the title refer to the protagonists Eyüp (Yavuz Bingöl), his wife Hacer (Hatice Aslan) and their son İsmail (Ahmet Rıfat Sungar), who quite literally look no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. They are apparently content to pass their lives on the margins of society living a hand-to-mouth existence. However that decision ultimately proves costly.Unlike his earlier work, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan introduces a political element by having Eyüp work as a driver for corrupt politician Servet (Ercan Kesal). The movie begins with an accident where someone is killed: Eyüp takes the rap for the accident and is imprisoned for nine months, while Servet continues his career as a prospective candidate for the forthcoming election. Inevitably he wins as part of a landslide for the AK (Justice and Development) Party. Ceylan has Servet insist that his sole aim as a politician is to "serve" - but precisely whom he serves is a moot point. ÜÇ MAYMUN suggests that his main interests lie in making as much money as possible while exploiting those around him: Eyüp serves a jail sentence, while Hacer embarks on a doomed love-affair that ends with Servet telling her to leave once she has served her purpose (as a pleasurable alternative to his wife, no doubt).Nonetheless the film includes familiar themes and tropes characteristic of Ceylan's oeuvre. It is shot in sepia tones, the dirty, washed-out colors providing an appropriate visual metaphor for the protagonists' dirty, washed-out lives. Their house is a poky, rundown building right by a railway line, where trains rattle by, preventing any serious attempts at conversation. Not that this handicap really matters: Eyup, Hacer and İsmail have a pathological inability to express their feelings openly. Sometimes the only way they can communicate is through violence, with Hacer as the unwilling victim. They inhabit an underworld predominantly comprised of shadows; when mother and son eat breakfast, we cannot see their bodies silhouetted against the sea- view from their living- room window. Ceylan makes much of the ambiance: several scenes takes place amid the chirping of crickets, the barking of dogs, the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the coast, and the whirr of motor-boat engines. Life carries on regardless of the characters; it is part of their tragedy that they remain totally oblivious to anything except themselves, as signified in the repeated use of shots showing them looking despairingly out to see, as if wanting to unify themselves with the elements yet emotionally unable to do so.The action takes place during a series of miserable autumn days; the clouds roll threateningly by, and there is very little if any sunlight. We hear thunder rolling threateningly in the background - an appropriate aural metaphor for the crises of the protagonists' lives. As the film ends, a storm begins, while we witness Eyüp, no more than a speck on the horizon, looking moodily out to sea. The entire world, it seems, is out of joint; the characters' crises embody all our crises, that become so dominant that we are unable to see beyond them.Sometimes the sonic landscape becomes almost too complicated, with the characters' heavy breathing competing for our attention with the daily sounds of life in a seedy area of İstanbul. Nonetheless Ceylan has created a compelling piece that is thoroughly worth our attention.

When I saw Distant (2002) by the same director, Nuri Ceylan, I was suitably impressed with his cinematic technique: sparse dialog, enclosed simple sets, very long takes, long static shots, little or no music sound track, minimal cast of characters – and essentially allows the story to unfold by simply observing what people do. The next film of Ceylan's I saw, Climates (2006), used similar techniques and followed a similar pattern; but I liked Distant more, at that time.With this one, Nuri Ceyaln has proved that he is truly a master of visual story-telling. Moreover, this is a more compelling and a more intense story than the above two because it delves into the daily, banal evil that occurs – and is often covered up – in families in all cultures in real life, all of which is implicitly contained within the title. Curiously, as a boy long ago whenever I visited my paternal grandmother, I would almost always pick up the same ornament – a trio of monkeys in a row and in appropriate poses – with the words Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil inscribed in the base. At that time, I thought it was quite funny to look at...This story illustrates those frailties when Servet (Ercan Kesal), a local businessman and wannabe politician, accidentally kills a pedestrian with his car at night and desperately pressures his chauffeur, Eyup (Yavuz Bingol) to take the rap for him – for a good price – which inevitably leads to the spiral of doubt, distrust and evil that eventually overshadows Eyup, his wife, Hacer (Hatice Aslan) and his son, Ismail (Ahmet Sungar). And throughout the story, the lack of dialog heightens the disconnect that grows between the father, mother and son, all of whom live at the top of a reasonably affluent blocks of apartments overlooking a railway which parallels a freeway, and with the open sea as a backdrop .Those who know Ceylan's films know he likes long, static takes in either extremely long shot or medium to extreme close up; so, viewers won't be disappointed at all. Coupled with Ceylan's proclivity to have the actors face on to the camera more than any other director I've seen (and without breaking the fourth wall), viewers can savor and even wonder at the effect the actors have upon them as they watch – an effect so strong that I, at least, actually have the feeling of being there; and in this film particularly.Complications continue, though, when Hacer thinks she is falling in love with Servet (who is married, of course) after he seduces her just once; thereafter, she won't let him go, much to his displeasure and despite his threats directed to her. And, after Eyup is released from prison nine months later, things really go down the toilet when he begins to suspect what we, as voyeurs, know already; and they reach rock bottom when Servet is found dead, murdered. Meanwhile, young Ismail attempts to make his way in the world while silently witnessing his parents' difficulties.Overshadowing the family's problems is the poignant memory of the son who apparently drowned while still very young – a recollection that still affects all three.One thing, of course, always leads to another. But here, not only is the resolution of the murder a surprise, but the aftermath is what really got me: a totally unexpected, but deliciously ironic narrative closure that makes diabolical sense in yet another oh-so-real-life story about the devil's playground viz. human relationships.Do see this movie from one of the best directors in the world today. And take note of the quality of the actors and the stunning photography – particularly the long, final shot of Eyup atop his apartment as he looks out to sea – while you are entertained with a story as old as antiquity. I look forward to seeing Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. I hope you also feel the same.Highly recommended – but definitely not for action/thriller fans and rev-heads.March 8, 2012

There are long longeurs of people brooding that go on forever. Many scenes seem to play-out in slow-motion depression. The plot is basic enough - a politician swindles his driver to take the fall for a fatal accident. The driver goes to jail – the drivers' wife falls for the politician, the son of the driver finds out about his mother and when the driver is released from jail he suspects that not all is kosher. The family dissolves into a full blown depression and they speak in monosyllables to each other. There is even some science fiction when a long dead son starts miraculously appearing. I didn't quite get this part but it was pretty eerie!Really it's not that there is no empathy – but everything is so dreary that it just weighs you down. One wonders if there is any point to it all – I didn't see any. It's like an old Ingmar Bergman that has been transported to Turkey.

Üç maymun (2008), directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, is a Turkish film shown in the United States with the title, "Three Monkeys." The film explores the dynamics of a working-class family when these dynamics are changed by the actions of an upper-class employer.Yavuz Bingol plays Eyüp, who is a chauffeur for a wealthy businessman/politician. His wife, Hacer--played by the lovely Hatice Aslan--and his son, Ismail (Rifat Sungar) are the other two family members. Although many reviewers have called the family dysfunctional, I think that, at the outset of the film, they aren't much different from other families. We all know of families with two hard-working parents and a young-adult son who lives at home. The son is drifting towards trouble, but hasn't actually gotten there yet. The scenario isn't all that unusual.At the very outset of the film, the chauffeur's employer has killed a pedestrian, and then left the scene of the accident. That sets the plot in motion--everything follows from that event.This is a somber, thoughtful film. There's very little on-screen violence and almost no gaiety either. Ceylan reminds me of Chantal Ackerman in his use of long, middle-distance takes. If someone is going somewhere, we get long scenes in which we see the person walking, then riding on a train, then walking again. The scenes aren't random. At that point in the plot, the person must move from point A to point B. Most directors would show him or her leaving a house, and arriving at an office, or vice-versa. Ceylan shows us the character actually traveling from A to B. Once I got into the rhythm of the film, I enjoyed this slow and careful directorial style. Whether or not you like the film may hinge on your acceptance or rejection of Ceylan's technique.We saw this film in the wonderful Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. I think it would work almost as well on DVD.