Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

a film by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2012, 157 minutes

Poster

Synopsis

Late one night, an array of men- a police commissioner, a prosecutor, a doctor, a murder suspect and others- pack themselves into three cars and drive through the endless Anatolian country side, searching for a body across serpentine roads and rolling hills. The suspect claims he was drunk and can’t quite remember where the body was buried; field after field, they dig but discover only dirt. As the night draws on, tensions escalate, and individual stories slowly emerge from the weary small talk of the men. Nothing here is simple, and when the body is found, the real questions begin.

At once epic and intimate, Ceylan’s latest explores the twisted web of truth, and the occasional kindness of lies.

Reviews

"Anatolia is a cop movie and a road movie - but mostly it's gorgeous cinema."
—Andrew O'Hehir, Salon

"Ravishingly atmospheric. A meditative masterpiece of a policier."
—Ella Taylor, NPR

"A masterpiece. A police procedural that slowly gains the quality of a collective dream."
—New York Magazine

Press Materials

Press Images

Where to watch

Playdates

Jan 4 - Film Forum, New York, NY
Jan 20 - Cinema Village, New York, NY
Jan 25 - Loft Cinema, Tucson, AZ
Jan 25 - University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Jan 26 - Indiana University Cinema, Bloomington, IN
Jan 27 - Zeitgeist Theater, New Orleans, LA