Distant

"I love men – we're so stupid" - John Cassavetes There are times – and it's not terribly often – when a film grabs hold of you and hooks you in from the first frame, and doesn't let go until the very last. Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Climates is one of them. In the sweltering heat of western Turkey, a couple (Ceylan and real-life wife Ebru) wander through ruins. He's taking photographs, she sits on a rock. After some minutes he asks, "are you bored?" She slowly begins to cry, the camera never leaving her face. This lengthy pre-credit sequence speaks volumes about their relationship – a feat not easily achieved, and a testament to Ceylan's gift as a director. It's the kind of scene that in the hands of a lesser director would come off as pretentious, or even pointless, but here manages to fill us in on all we need to know about the doomed couple. Told over three seasons in three locales, Climates is an unflinching and uncompromising portrait of male behavior in a John Cassavetes by way of Hong Sang-soo vein. Like many of Hong's leading characters, Ceylan's Isa is a middle-aged man who finds himself at standstill, both in his career as well as his personal life. An architect who has procrastinated for too many years over completing his thesis, his job as a university professor seems to bring him little satisfaction. His self-obsession is no doubt responsible (in part, at least) for his bachelor status, and he carries himself with a masculine bravado that would make Cassavetes proud. His relationship with the much younger Bahar (Ebru Ceylan), a successful TV art-director, is more an ego-boost than anything else, as evinced by his utter lack of concern for her on their summer vacation. Isa is a man who takes what he needs from people, unable to give anything in return. (Distant, the title of Ceylan's previous feature, fits suitably here as well.) Even a visit to his parents is prompted by a need to have his pants sewn. He wants what he does not have, but only to feel victorious for having obtained it – the act of winning the game (at it were) is what satisfies his desire. Seducing an ex-girlfriend on his terms (in an uncomfortably aggressive sex scene) brings greater pleasure than the sex itself. When, on their next meeting, she becomes the aggressor, he offers a laughably lame excuse for avoiding intimacy. (Sort of a dark variation of Hong's Turning Gate.) Isa's pathological behavior drives the film's final act, which finds him pursuing Bahar once again, this time in the snowy mountains of eastern Turkey. With an increased sense of desperation disguised as a desire to change, Isa makes a concerted effort to reclaim Bahar's heart, but is he even capable of knowing what he wants? Climates' quietly devastating conclusion is somewhat like a paper cut – a simple act that leaves a disproportionate sting. There's no question that their real-life relationship is a factor in the film's success. The film is practically a love letter to Ebru Ceylan, who is simply radiant throughout, and whose performance stems out of an incredible trust. Not since John and Gena has a director gazed so lovingly at his spouse. That the couple made the film just two months after the birth of their son (the film is dedicated to him) is also remarkable, adding yet another emotional layer to the proceedings. I'd be lying if I said the film was optimistic – it opens in ruins and ends in a graveyard – yet great breakup films shouldn't be, by design. With the beauty of La Notte combined with the brutal honesty of films like 5x2, Climates is a masterpiece of the breakup genre (is there such a thing?), and without question one of the best films of 2006. Climates is currently playing in New York and California, and will be rolling out to other states in coming months. Click here for details. Do not miss this one.