The films of Michelangelo Antonioni will either bore you to death or captivate you in the most subtle of ways. I fall into the latter category and am profoundly influenced by his work and the filmic conventions integral to them. It was my discovery of Antonioni's work that led to my discovery of New German Cinema, both of which ultimately shaped the way I watched and interpreted films. Brought up on a steady diet of Hollywood movies, I was conditioned to be a passive viewer, one swept away by movies made solely for entertainment purposes. In many ways I still am that little boy who gets lost in the fantasy world on the silver screen, but as an adult I've learned the films that truly make me feel alive are the ones forcing me to be an active participant in what is being projected before me. In other words, films that challenge me by asking questions in lieu of providing absolutes.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's is an Antonioni disciple and his 2006 film Climates is unmistakably an Antonioni clone. From the story of a couple's dissolving relationship on vacation (one part L'Avventura one part La Notte) right down to the compositions of every shot and the very deliberate pacing, Ceylan wears his influence with pride. Cinematographer Gokhan Tiryaki beautifully frames every shot, where the meticulous compositions are allowed to play out in patient long takes. As it is with Antonioni's films, the minimal use of editing allows the viewer to study things they normally wouldn't get a chance to even consider. Things like landscape, diegetic sounds and subtleties expressed by the actors, all take on heightened significance where, ultimately, this minutiae plays a crucial role filling in the blanks predominant throughout the film. In other words, films like Ceylan's and Antonioni's challenge their viewers to think, to read between the lines and to actively search for context, meaning and subtext within every frame of their films.

As much as I love to revisit the thrills of my youth with standard Hollywood fare, nothing bests a filmgoing experience where I'm not only expected to think and feel as an adult, but am forced to act like one. What an interesting world we'd live in if the blockbusters were all films designed for adults.

http://eattheblinds.blogspot.com/

An academician, Isa, and his girlfriend, Bahar, are on vacation. Both are bored with each other. Ultimately Isa tells Bahar he wants to split up--which they do. Bahar goes off to make films while Isa becomes MORE depressed after she leaves.

Imagine you are watching an Ingmar Bergman film where you have a depressed and vaguely dissatisfied couple. Then, you turn the film to half speed and make all this boredom and sadness seem to go even slower and last a whole lot longer. This is what I think of "Climates"--an incredibly plodding film from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan. What makes this a tiny bit interesting is that Nuri stars in the film as does his wife, Bahar. Otherwise, I found very little to like about the film. Technically, I suppose it's well made but the story is paper-thin and unsatisfying...which, I understand, it THE point of the film but I just didn't care.

In Turkey, the middle-age University Professor Isa (Nuri Bilge Ceylan) and his younger wife Bahar (Ebru Ceylan),who works in television, are spending summer vacation in Kas. After a couple of days, Isa decides to separate from Bahar since they do not communicate with each other. Bahar returns to Istanbul alone and then she travels to the countryside to work in a new project. Meanwhile Isa meets his former lover Serap (Nazan Kirilmis) with his friend Guven (Can Ozbatur) and later he rapes her in her house. Then he travels to meet Bahar and propose her to move in together again. What will be her decision?

"Iklimler", a.k.a. "Climates", is a boring and overrated Franco Turkish romance. The pace is too slow and the lead couple shows no chemistry and charisma. However the cinematography and landscapes are stunning. Despite the hype, this film is annoying and pointless. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Climas" ("Climates")