StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Nonureva Really Surprised!

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

shakercoola Absorbing, epic length story set in Cappadoccia, Turkey. Several themes swirl around the hilltop hotel: necessary evil, civic responsibility, shame, ambition, marital breakdown. What happens when a man's heart goes into hibernation? Director Nuri Ceylan is at his most powerful with his Chekhovian style script.

mertcanolcer I cannot believe how beautiful this movie is. The acting is particularly mesmerizing, it attracts you into the screen right away, and keeps you wanting more every second and that is because very little of character history is told in the movie. You have only little to predict what will happen, what can happen in the silence between each strike in the conversation. If you recall, I said "the acting" as if I am talking about every actor in the movie. You are correct, every single actor in this movie is incredible, but I have to give it to Demet Akbag, she particularly inspired me with her talent. It was so beautiful that I couldn't believe she was acting and thought if she was like that in real life too. It's a shame we only saw very little of her. The symbolism in the movie screams at your face in almost every scene, and you feel like you can't hold up with all these complex characters and metaphor etc. Aydin, Nihal and Necla's personalities sometimes wave into each other, and only after the movie you realize each character was actually transforming each other's personalities. The growth Aydin goes through is only so much (which was more believable) and the way to it was told was very well.I will be watching this movie to see more, to feel more. I am not humble enough to NOT say "I didn't understand this movie" but I am humble enough to say, "I only understood very little about this movie". I always liked movies that makes you say "I have to see this again!" after you watch them, and if you too, then you MUST watch this.

anthonyjlangford Hitchcock, the great man, said that drama is life with the boring bits cut out (He'd know). Unfortunately in this film, all the boring bits were left in. And then some. If it hadn't won the Palme De Yawn, you wouldn't find the type of sycophantic reviews currently on display. 'Stunning' 'Emotional' 'Masterful' – Incredible what people can project so they can feel superior. Let's get down to the bones. Yes there is drama here. About 45 mins worth. That's being generous. It is beautifully shot. The locations are wonderful. The direction is more than competent. There is a certain amount of poetry and/or style involved. No doubting any of that. However, let's get to the heart of the issue. At three hours fifteen, its two hours too long. Snail paced Euro films are great. I love them. Yet the conversations within go into a loop. It's like a bad argument where no one makes new ground yet on it goes, repeating itself. Any self-respecting person would have walked away after assessing the time they were wasting. A good editor could have created something decent out of this. There is interest within the scenes, only because it fools you into thinking that something significant is about to happen. It's a lie. Your life, on a bad day, is much more captivating. It's a shame because the performances are very good. Set within the famous French Film Festival after a couple of joints and a bottle of Cab Sav I'll say this is the best film ever too, at least since the previous year when 'Blue is the Warmest Colour' won, (which was worth its three hours). This simply feels like a director set free without the reins of a producer with balls. Perhaps prior success earned him carte blanche. Perhaps given the turmoil north of its borders, the fact that Turkey produced it made an impact. I hate saying that because I've been to Turkey and they do make great films but political correctness (righteousness) has never been more powerful than now.There's cinematic poetry here, without a doubt, especially given its promising beginning. Real artistry. It mostly occurs in the short outdoor scenes that are edited like a normal, albeit, art film. It's the extended yawn parade indoors that ruins this film. It will be forgotten about in less than a year. In ten years from now, people will be laughing that it received as much acclaim as it did. In fact it will be completely forgotten. Its limpid conclusion will be the metaphor for its ultimate footnote.

westsideschl It takes script, acting and directorial skill to keep a film flowing while still captivating for over three (3) hours. Some credit goes to Chekov for the framework of isolating peoples of different educational; economic; status; etc. backgrounds in one isolated arena and let them duke it out - verbally. The other credit goes to the carved cave dwellings, some of which date back about a thousand years while others are more recent, of the more recent some are quite elaborately constructed, one of which is the film's setting - a modern caved hotel. Incidentally, the source material for the hills/cliffs is volcanic ash - Tuff (looks like sandstone), a serene natural beauty contrast to the human personalities. Film should have been titled "Winter Storm" as a cabin fever style escalation of verbosity, mostly on issues that range from individual/personal values of the film's characters to more abstractly, human values in general, begin to provoke animosities and distrust. The central foil is the hotel owner, Aydin, and because of his appropriately stone like demeanor the diatribes just bounce off of him; even seeming to reflect more of the accusers themselves. I'm inclined to think that a bit more editing would have produced the same film in a little shorter length, but then too we live in a time driven, multitasking environment in contrast to the film's appropriate - time moves glacially slow setting. So the film's molasses slow tedium may have had a purpose.