Distant

My Turko-phile friend Max Oaksey loved this film, the tale of Mahmut, a photographer whose wife leaves him alone in the cold and ancient city of Istanbul. Things change when his cousin Yusuf from the country comes, bringing along naivety and some not-so-modern hygiene habits. It’s sort of The Odd Couple in Asia Minor, only without all the chuckles. It’s also pretty slow and quiet, and title might refer either to the distance between Mahmut and Yusuf, the distance between city and village, or the distancing effect that the minimalist style has. Some very nice camera work with a strong emphasis on framing makes up for slow pace, but this is certainly not a film for the action-oriented.