This movie is about a depressed and emotionally constricted man has a distant relative move in with him in his apartment in Istanbul. As time passes, their relationship becomes more and more strained until finally he begins yelling at his house guest--who is out of work and doesn't appear all that eager to find work. That's most of the movie in fact. The problem is that although emotionally constricted and depressed people are VERY withdrawn and non-communicative, they don't make for a very satisfying movie. That's because most of the time he (and his roomie) just stare into space and say nothing. I think all these flat moments could have been shortened to make a 30 minute movie--I certainly wouldn't have minded.

This Turkish film was listed in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, and it was rated four out of five stars by critics, I obviously hoped for the best with this film and that I would agree with the recommendations, so I watched it out of curiosity. Basically Mahmut (Muzaffer Özdemir) is a forty year old relatively wealthy and intellectual independent photographer living in the big city of Istanbul, but his existence is in crisis after his wife leaves him. Young factory worker Yusuf (Mehmet Emin Toprak) is Mahmut's cousin, and has travelled to Instanbul after losing his job when the factory closes down, he hopes to find another job to support his family, perhaps on board a ship, and in the meantime stay with his cousin, who allows him to stay, but is very distant towards him. The two do not get along at all, and there are no jobs available like Yusuf had hoped for or assumed, and he has no sense of direction, what to do and how to do it, and meanwhile Mahmut shows hardly any sign of improving from his state of despair, as he continues his dull job, photographing tiles which is inartistic, he also cannot communicate with his ex-wife or lover, pretends to be stimulated by other filmmakers, and watches porn when his cousin leaves the room. There is a point when Mahkut does attempt to bond with Yusuk, as well as try to rekindle his love of art, by going on a drive to the Turkish countryside and taking photographs of it, but both the bonding and this hope for inspiration fail, in the end Yusuf leaves without telling his cousin, and Mahmut is left on the docks watching the ships alone. Also starring Zuhal Gencer Erkaya as Zuhal Gencer, Nazan Kirilmis as Lover, Feridun Koc as Janitor and Fatma Ceylan as Mother. This is a rather odd and slightly uncomfortable film, there is hardly any dialogue, and many of the scenes see the two leading characters hanging around the house not doing very much, but that is the intention, conveying the themes of isolation and alienation, and certainly the good reason for the title Distant, I'm not sure if I fully agree with the four out of five stars critics give it, but it is an interesting enough drama. Good!

"Distant" is a slice-of-Turkish-life flick which follows the mundane activities of two adult male cousins; one a photographer and the other an unemployed underachiever. There's little doubt that auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a work in progress with considerable talent. However, this little foreign minimalistic arty dramady is so full of empty filler and so devoid of story or anything engaging or provocative that it will likely appeal to only the most avid devotees of cinema and mainstream audiences should look elsewhere. I personally grew quickly bored with the slow pace of the film and found myself fast-forwarding through the empty spaces - and there are many - between dialogue, plot development, and denouement. "Distant" is a very nicely done bit of esoterica. (B-)