Day 5 of the 54th IFFI, in Goa, was the day dedicated to the mid-fest film. It was a must-watch movie for cinephiles, and was titled, About Dry Grasses, the Turkish film by acclaimed filmmaker, Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
This was also the Indian premier of the movie, and so, there was a lot of excitement among the IFFI delegates. And, it doubled when the filmmaker, himself, attended the screening!
In his address he mentioned how India and renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray inspire him. He, then, warned the audience that his film is very long and may make them feel sleepy.
Filmmaker Ceylan is known to make really long movies, which are cross three hours. But then, he said that Indian audiences are accustomed to such a duration of a film.
And, he was right — the movie was very engaging and intriguing even though it was set in a cold, snowy village in eastern Turkey, with long shots and a feeling of melancholy throughout the film.
ABOUT THE MOVIE
About Dry Grass is the story of a middle-aged elementary school art teacher Samet (Deniz Celiloglu), his 14-year-old girl student Sevim (Ece Bagci), his colleague and roommate Kenan (Musab Ekici), and fellow teacher and former political activist Nuray (played by Merve Dizdar, who won the Best Actress award for her role at the Cannes Film Festival, 2023).
Samet is not very excited about his job and wants a transfer to Istanbul as he believes that there is no life in his sleepy village. The situation takes a turn when a girl student complains about Samet. This incident makes him more bitter and frustrated towards his job and life, in general.
This philosophical drama speaks about isolation, boredom, loneliness, and life and its meaning in a very subtle way. It is like watching the everyday life of this teacher.
One important aspect of this 197-minute long movie is that it is dialogue-heavy, which is not so common for such movies. I believe that this makes it interesting and engaging. The best part is the conversation between Nuray and Samet, where they discuss politics, purpose of life, hope, etc.
Director Ceylan, while speaking about his film mentioned that this conversation is the core of this movie. The movie also speaks about the political situation in Turkey through its characters and dialogues, which makes it even more realistic.
The movie ends with a change of season from winter to summer as the protagonist, Samet, says that the place has only these two seasons and no spring in between. This probably indicates that he is now in search of that spring season, where there is colour, beauty and life, in general, with all its shades.