Distant

Theatrical Release Date: 2004 03 12 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 717119914547

Studio: New Yorker Video

Summary: Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan writes and directs the taciturn drama Uzak (Distant). Following a major economic crisis, the young dreamer Yusuf (Mehmet Emin Toprak) leaves his small village in search of employment on a ship. He arrives in Istanbul to stay with his relative Mahmut (Muzaffer ?zdemir). Living alone and working as a photographer, Mahmut's ordered life is disrupted by the presence of Yusuf. He is also disturbed when he learns that his ex-wife, Nazan (Zuhal Gencer Erkaya), is moving to Canada with her new husband. Mahmut cannot speak with his mother (Fatma Ceylan), Yusuf cannot talk to a girl he likes (Ebru Ceylan), and the two men barely communicate with each other. Uzak won the Grand Jury Prize while both leads won Best Actor at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival Grand Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival In Competition – Cannes Film Festival Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Film Presented – Toronto International Film Festival

Features: Koza (Cocoon), a short film by the director
Behind-the-scenes footage
Interview with the director
Photo gallery
Theatrical trailer
Scene selections
Dolby Digital 5.1

Distant

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 03/22/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 105 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitles: English

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Off to Istanbul [:07]
2. Mahmut's Routine [3:50]
3. The Houseguest [5:51]
4. Winter Wonderland [8:19]
5. Time Together [4:49]
6. Job Search [11:25]
7. Drifting Apart [11:01]
8. "Photography is Dead." [7:46]
9. When the Cat's Away [6:17]
10. A Night on the Town [7:35]
11. Boiling Point [7:10]
12. The Missing Watch [5:52]
13. Caught in the Trap [8:43]
14. Departure [4:42]
15. Alone Again [4:07]
16. End Credits [5:45]

Josh Ralske

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Distant is a lugubriously paced reflection on modern urban life. Ceylan captures his story in bleakly beautiful images and portraits of the two struggling main characters that convey tremendous sadness, despite an underlying dry wit (as demonstrated in the bits of business involving efforts to trap a mouse that plagues Mahmut's Muzaffer ?zdemir apartment) and restraint that keeps the film from becoming maudlin. It's a painstaking character study, and Ceylan lets the details of these characters' lives build slowly. Yusuf (Mehmet Emin Toprak, who died in a car accident shortly after the film was made) is good-natured, but na?ve, and he doesn't understand the importance Mahmut places in having things a certain way. Mahmut seems cold and somewhat pretentious, and it's only in the film's final third that Ceylan gives us an inkling of why he behaves the way he does. These are wonderful characters and often great fun to watch, as in the scene where Mahmut is watching Tarkovsky's Stalker late one night, while Yusuf sits with him, bored at the repetitive and uneventful images onscreen. Eventually, Yusuf goes to bed, and Mahmut's own prurient interests come to light. Ceylan allows the characters room to breathe within the forbidding setting, whether it's Mahmut's anally tidy apartment or the frozen streets of Istanbul. The tale has a deceptive, emotional complexity that builds to a surprisingly heartrending impact. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Nuri Bilge Ceylan  Director 
Nuri Bilge Ceylan  Producer 
Nuri Bilge Ceylan  Screenwriter 
Muzaffer Özdemir  Actor 
Mehmet Emin Toprak  Actor 
Zuhal Gencer Erkaya  Actor 
Nazan Kirilmis  Actor 
Feridun Koç  Actor 
Fatma Ceylan  Actor 
Ebru Ceylan  Actor 

Country: Turkey