Film 4 champions movies that most viewers would never otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy, let alone even know about. Therefore, they are to be congratulated and supported for showing minor gems such as 'Honey' (Bal).

A small number of films have been applauded for stripping down both pace and cinematic frills to convey a way of life. Literally, any slower and we'd be in real time! Italy's 'A Tree of Wooden Clogs' is a famous example which understandably divides opinion quite severely.

It is almost incidental as to whom, what, and where 'Bal' is set and about. It will obviously appeal to those who prefer the organic side to things in life, whether in nature, lifestyle or in the cinematic process. Bal covers all these to a generous degree.

Yes, it features throughout a six year old stammering Turkish schoolboy - Yusuf - not particularly photogenic, or cute, or naughty, or anything. Just an everyday kid who has a bee-keeping father, who doesn't actually keep bees. Well, not in any one place - he places the hides in remote and beautiful areas and then extracts the honey. His quite young (looking) dutiful mother picks tea.

I feel quite privileged to have been given a beautifully, often exquisitely, photographed study of this life and taking up just two hours of my own life. I learned much and there is a quiet story in there somewhere - you can make of it what you will, it's almost unimportant. Or is it?

I turned my hi-fi amplifier up quite high when playing the film's sound through it and would strongly suggest you do similar. The all- encompassing natural sounds are so well recorded, every nuance and snippet of sound help paint a very vivid sonic picture. You could almost close one's eyes and listen to this on its own. Almost uniquely, (and thankfully) you won't have to suffer a sudden booming beat or great crescendo of added noise to make you jump out of your skin. It would sound great with headphones, too, I'm sure (as long as you have a stereo source, of course).

Personally, I always find it comforting when a film, involving a child features a good teacher. We all know and recognise one, from our own childhoods - Yusuf's teacher is measured and fair, calm and patient, rewarding good work, dissuading bad. These scenes were an absolute pleasure.

Apparently, this is the final part in a trio of films by Turkish writer/director Semih Kaplanoglu, though chronologically, it is the first part. Naturally, now, I want to see the other two parts, 'Egg' and 'Milk'. I'm hoping that Film 4 will be showing these, too, at some point.

*** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about this movie. It won the Golden Bear in Berlin, but, first, it's a German co-production (so, who knows...) and second, festival winners are not always the movies that bowl me over.

After having seen it, I must say that I am very touched. The reviews about the movie always focus on the beautiful and calm storytelling and the awesome Anatolian landscapes. But in my view it's primarily a chamber play with a quite depressing story. The young boy Yussuf suffers from strong stuttering. The only person he opens to is his father, a beekeeper. Only with his father the boy can communicate, he whispers complete sentences and expresses his feelings. At the end of the movie, the son will realize that his father died in the woods, the last screen showing the child sleeping under a giant dark tree.

The acting from the boy is superb. There are many heartwarming scenes, especially when the boy sees his mother crying and drinks a cup of milk (what he normally hates to do),looking hopefully at her afterward, as if his self-conquest could change anything about the cruel situation. In this scenes the movie really manages to take us into the child's world.

What makes the movie a little irritating is not only the slow rhythm (that helps to create those real-life magic moments) and the very few dialogue, but also the lack of emotional gestures, especially between Yussuf and his mom. If the director of the film would have been let's say Michael Haneke, it would surely not be interpreted as a hymn to (natural) life, but as a sober analysis of failed communications.

Finally, if you generally do not like slow and minimalistic movies, don't watch this one. It's breathtaking slowly, and very many and very long scenes will only show the boy looking around an empty room with big eyes. All in all, Honey is a naturalistic child drama offering enough space and time for free associations and deep feelings. It's surely recommendable to watch it in a cinema. Although it's overall great done, you might not stay awake until the end when lying on a soft couch at home.

Bal is the Turkish word for honey, and that is part of the storyline. Yusuf, a six year old boy, wanders about, searching for both his father and the meaning of life, in no particular order.

His father suffers the trials of Job, his bees have vanished for no apparent reason and he has a family to feed. An accident leads to dads early demise, so most of the film is told from the perspective of Yusuf, who as played by Bora Atlas, is an absolute casting miracle. The kid is tremendous; he owns the screen.

There is very little dialogue, so the actors must use their faces to portray real human emotions. The scenery is beautiful and the sounds of nature fill the air. In the mood for a quiet, thoughtful movie with actual heart and soul, then Bal should be just right.