Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

11/15/2024

Came across this film by accident while exploring what was on the Mubi platform. The title was super familiar but I hadn't ever watched it. From the opening shot - you see it here on the poster - a long, wide view of car headlights driving through rolling hills - it's clear that this film doesn't look like anything I had ever seen before. In many ways, this is a thriller, but backwards: We know who the killer is in the opening scenes. But as the story unfolds, we learn about the petty politics and grievances amongst the police officers, then the villages as their members talk about the case, and the instinctual covering up of evil. This film led me to watch the director's - Nuri Bilge Ceylan - most recent film: About Dry Grasses. This one was nominated for the 2023 Palm D'Or at Can