Üç maymun (Three Monkeys) (2008) – TIFF’08
Three Monkeys (Nuri Bilge Ceylan) is about a small family who I think we’re supposed to think lives in poverty. It doesn’t look like it though; although their apartment is small, it’s pretty sweet, with an awesome view of the water and a kick-ass rooftop patio. Anyway I think we’re supposed to think they are poor because the dad is a driver for a politician and they always seem to be short on money.
The story begins as the aforementioned politician is involved in a hit-and-run. He gets his driver to take the 9 month prison sentence for him in exchange for compensation. Premise: good! Execution: not so good. There’s a ton of plot in this film but not nearly enough character. We watch the family do (or not do) things but never are we given enough to come close to understanding why. And there’s a bit of spooky stuff that, sure, I can come up with explanations for… but I shouldn’t have to be *that* creative – that’s the filmmaker’s job!
Performances were great and certainly taken seriously, and probably a lot of thought was put into it; the only spectacular thing about this film, however, was the visuals. It consisted mainly of stationary shots (just like last night’s film) and this style was used to great effects as there were a lot of close-ups where the subject moves in and out of the frame. Most striking was the use of colour – or should I say, the lack of colour. It was very under-saturated and I love that look. I think it was filmed in Turkey and the horizons and skylines were absolutely beautiful. I could have looked at it all day… actually, it was so slow, it kind of felt like I was…
I didn’t feel what was probably intended to inspire empathy for a struggling family or a moral dilemma. I felt sympathy for the characters but too much was left to our imagination. There were too many facial expressions and not enough dialogue. The long, silent shots were boring and tedious, but again, they looked brilliant. I’ve including quite a few stills and posters because they look so amazing!
This was screening 2/26.
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