Times and Winds

Turkey

Poetic, pointed examination of life in a rural, isolated mountain village. We follow three pre-teens as they suffer the injustices heaped upon them by the older generation who have suffered the same fate by their own parents. The film is organized around the five daily calls to prayer...we get the sense that these lives, these fates are timeless, ever repeating as the wheel of time turns.

Spectacular cinematography coupled with a dramatic score by Finland's Arvo Part gave the film a depth and universality that took it out of the realm of anthropology into philosophical ruminations of the meaning and purpose of life. Frequent shots of the various characters lying apparently dead in natural settings helped root the film in the metaphysical. As did the excellent steadicam shots following characters as they wove their way through the cobbled streets and between broken stone walls. These people were seamlessly presented as part of their landscape.

Not much plot. Character development was scattered and sometimes confusing. But for those with the patience and an interest in serious artistic filmmaking this is a winner.

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