I saw this debut movie at the last Black Nights FF in Tallinn. It has very strong political stance and very lyrical visual narration. Also good acting and good script is supporting this narrative. Onur Saylak in leading role is performing a great acting with a minimalistic warm and sincere play. Film tells the story of a political prisoner who has been suffered by the inhuman conditions of F-type jails. He has been released on the health ground, back to the hometown which is located in East Black Sea Region and tried to adopt to daily life again.The most impressive part of the story is his meeting with a young Georgian women who earns her life from prostitution.Their relation provides an opportunity to the audience to compare the dreams, frustrations and the pains of two people which one of them is spent his ten years in prison because of his socialist ideology and the other suffers from aftereffects of same ideology. It is a good example of New Turkish Cinema of 2000s like "My Marlon and Brando" and "Summer Book". I gave 8 this movie and strongly recommend to everyone who likes art-house movie with humanistic discourse.
16 Reviews
When solitude joins desperation, it can be more than loneliness.
ilovetoseethemovie22 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Before entering the theater, I fetch only a few information about movie.
Through slow-spaced storyline till the end, the movie captures the life of Yusuf, a man who is long-term sentenced in jail, but gets released due to his health problem. He returns his mountain village to find only his elderly mother's welcome, while his older sister went away to the city because of marriage. He then meets his friend at childhood, who brings him to a girl. Everything starts there.
I love the way the world of Yusuf gets slowly affected by his mother's life, his childhood friend and one young prostitute. These circumstances start to have his memory confronted with reality, after his world of desperation seems in solitude to people. However, the mood of loneliness can be yet overwhelming through the film. And when the desperation and loneliness blend together with uphill atmosphere shot in autumn, the mood and cinematography then undeniably play a great and splendid role to rivet my attention.
This is the first feature film by Özcan Alper, which I can call it a little gem.
Through slow-spaced storyline till the end, the movie captures the life of Yusuf, a man who is long-term sentenced in jail, but gets released due to his health problem. He returns his mountain village to find only his elderly mother's welcome, while his older sister went away to the city because of marriage. He then meets his friend at childhood, who brings him to a girl. Everything starts there.
I love the way the world of Yusuf gets slowly affected by his mother's life, his childhood friend and one young prostitute. These circumstances start to have his memory confronted with reality, after his world of desperation seems in solitude to people. However, the mood of loneliness can be yet overwhelming through the film. And when the desperation and loneliness blend together with uphill atmosphere shot in autumn, the mood and cinematography then undeniably play a great and splendid role to rivet my attention.
This is the first feature film by Özcan Alper, which I can call it a little gem.
Wow!
amend710082 May 2009
I saw this film at the San Francisco International Film Festival and the audience was ecstatic. Fans of Bela Tarr will appreciate the scenes with no dialog, but which still deliver more information than a babbling script could have delivered about a troubled political prisoner and a conflicted nation in a confused world. The cinematography, from the "central chair" in the home to the snowy mountains of northern Turkey were amazing. One issue that I wish that I had looked at before seeing the film was the history of Turkish/Russian relations. This is a major theme. In a similar vein for those of us who have read and loved the novels of Orhan Pamuk, we westerners learn something very important about a vibrant but conflicted country. I gave this 9 stars based on content first, with cinematography a very close second. The lead actor is incredible and this is a new director to be watched.
Falling like Autumn leaves...
filozof30 March 2010
A poet says 'To one thing on the earth my heart burns for / those who passed away in the spring of their life'. And it is Autumn: Sonbahar which in Turkish means the last spring. Ozcan Alper's debut is about the evils the seasons do against the political prisoner Yusuf who was released for health reasons. Because of his socialist convictions he spent the spring-time of his life in prison. He comes back to his hometown. His mother takes care of him. He meets a Georgian girl and they fell in love. She suffers from the post-socialist conditions in her native country and is left with no other option than prostitute. Two victims of the same ideology, two lonely and tortured souls find a sheltering love in each other. But Yusuf's days are countable! Shot in beautiful locations in the Black Sea region which is also my hometown, the visuals of AUTUMN are simply magic and breath-taking. The Black Sea is the heart and inner world of Yusuf. Black Sea is an angry and rough, undulated sea. It is a rebellious sea as you'll see in one of the most beautiful scenes of the film where Yusuf walks over the sea on the small breakwater. The film has a sad end, the characters fall aside like Autumn leaves.. What else to say: the film is a beauty like a black pearl! It was also a box-office success in Turkey for an art-house film. Just see the film to discover more! 8 out of 10...
simplicity is beautiful
fifo3528 November 2010
this film is under the influence of ceylan work, characters that are outside of society, filmed in idyllic locations, with a lot of non narrative shots of nature, slow pace until the eventual downfall of the central character.I don't know if Turkish directors discovered existentialist approach in cinema 40 years later but those works are compelling.They really promote their country with beautiful photography and sometimes story becomes secondary, personally i started to wish visiting turkey!People who like images like me will always search of films that celebrate mise en scene.The political aspect of those films (ceylan, ustaoglu)seems to me little under developed or if you wish undermined from the tribulations of the characters, still people who take cinema more seriously than entertainment must see that body of work.
One of best, most meticulously handled art films in my recent memory
slowboatmo10 October 2009
Honestly, I cannot find fault with this movie. If you are a fan of fast-pace,thrilling and noisy Hollywood movies or any other foreign films that are obsessed with the portrayal of sex, then you should not even bother to comment on this movie. Also, if you want to compare this film to Tarkovsky, you are ruining the name of this Turkish director. Tarkovsky's film is like watching the paint dry without any real substance, but this film is a whole level above the self-indulgent art films with ridiculously long shots that offer no meaning. The feeling of the protagonist blends perfectly with the wonderful portrayal of nature and meticulously handled cinematography to create a deeply satisfying feeling that one can rarely get from performing most of the activities in our lives. This movie succeeds on many levels, whether it be symbolical, existential and emotional level. It totally rivets the audience as we watch every sequence of the character's life unfold and are absorbed into the authentic, life-like mood of the Autumn. It is a truly enjoyable and profound experience. Because of this movie, i will be a loyal fan of the Turkish cinema for many years to come. Not only the movie shows what a real movie should be like, it can also be seen as a book of wisdom that reveals eternal truth or problems that are hidden in human lives.
a brave Turkish film about death, love and politics
oev1322 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Like most of the artistic motivated films from turkey, SONBAHAR (Autumn) gleams with powerful pictures, which provide an insight into the simple life of the people living in this region of the Black sea. in the midst of misty mountains and rapid rivers time seems to stand still, or, at least to advance in a very slow way. This impression skillful contrasts the destiny of the main character Jusuf, who is released from prison because of a severe disease, and returns to his home to meet his own death. these overwhelming pictures of nature are accompanied by archive footage of the left wing movement of the 90s, which, because of their reality, wrench the film from his subjectivity. although Jusuf is trying to come to terms with himself, he doesn't seem to fit in this world, where people have other problems than politics. As beautiful the pictures are, as much do they shape the script. instead of letting the characters act the director seems to be content with leaving the film to the pictures. according to this the dramatic structure is weakly developed.( with the exception of the ending, which, in its concentration, outweighs a lot). as the politic context is not deepened in the film its up to the viewers interpretation. The question is, if Özcan could have shot the story at another place, or if one has to establish a certain place like this as a main character, to tell a story.
Enthralling...
markedasread20 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I almost missed the very limited screening of only three days (with director Özcan Alper present) when this came to my town. I cannot begin to tell how glad I am that I went to see it.
"Sonbahar", known to the international audience as "Autumn", is the first film by débutant director Özcan Alper from Turkey. This film is very well made, it is profound and striking. Overall I deem it a fantastic debute. We're introduced to a man, Yusuf, who has been imprisoned for the political events of the 90's in Turkey. He is released on grounds that you can discover on your own and is now returning to his childhood home, to a mother in a little cabin on a mountain village. Inside the cabin which literary reeks of serenity we see pictures of a young Yusuf that tells us he's been gone a long while.
Not much is said or even happens. It's a lightly populated village with most habitant's being too old or too young. Meanwhile, we're left with the impression that not much has really happened since Yusuf was imprisoned, and it's hard to believe that someone can ever grow old in the landscape where time stands still. Yusuf keeps his distance from the other locals and mostly hangs around with an old friend. They leave one day to a nearby village where he meets prostitute Eka. A brief relationship is introduced. But what is really interesting is not so much their relation, but rather how they are both connected. They are both prisoners. Yusuf is a prisoner of the politically oppressed, while Esa is trapped in prison of prostitution. Eka asks Yusuf about the time in real prison, a marvelous comment: "So you spent the best years of your life in prison because you wanted socialism? Are you crazy?" But the comment is perhaps less amusing than it is important to pic's political context. Naturally Ekas prostitution has kept her in an equal prison, isolated from social prosperity and vicinity.
The movie is very slow, the takes are lenghty and the photography is hypnotic, enthralling, as is the environment of this little village. Much reminds of the cinema of fellow Turk, Ceyland, but also the works of Andrei Tarkovsky. A must see.
"Sonbahar", known to the international audience as "Autumn", is the first film by débutant director Özcan Alper from Turkey. This film is very well made, it is profound and striking. Overall I deem it a fantastic debute. We're introduced to a man, Yusuf, who has been imprisoned for the political events of the 90's in Turkey. He is released on grounds that you can discover on your own and is now returning to his childhood home, to a mother in a little cabin on a mountain village. Inside the cabin which literary reeks of serenity we see pictures of a young Yusuf that tells us he's been gone a long while.
Not much is said or even happens. It's a lightly populated village with most habitant's being too old or too young. Meanwhile, we're left with the impression that not much has really happened since Yusuf was imprisoned, and it's hard to believe that someone can ever grow old in the landscape where time stands still. Yusuf keeps his distance from the other locals and mostly hangs around with an old friend. They leave one day to a nearby village where he meets prostitute Eka. A brief relationship is introduced. But what is really interesting is not so much their relation, but rather how they are both connected. They are both prisoners. Yusuf is a prisoner of the politically oppressed, while Esa is trapped in prison of prostitution. Eka asks Yusuf about the time in real prison, a marvelous comment: "So you spent the best years of your life in prison because you wanted socialism? Are you crazy?" But the comment is perhaps less amusing than it is important to pic's political context. Naturally Ekas prostitution has kept her in an equal prison, isolated from social prosperity and vicinity.
The movie is very slow, the takes are lenghty and the photography is hypnotic, enthralling, as is the environment of this little village. Much reminds of the cinema of fellow Turk, Ceyland, but also the works of Andrei Tarkovsky. A must see.
Absolutely it was simple
truth_devil_66628 June 2010
before to start this movie,i heard lots of good comment about it.and also the people said that the theme is really good.it also contains politics,lazish culture-especially lazish language- and the others.
the movie was started about some politic issues that this topic was used lots of times in Turkish cinema.there was no diversification.yes maybe the movie is only about that but it s not so strong in the movie finally.
first there were not so much people.the movie was turning around a couple of people.yes sometimes it can be advantage but it just made me bored in this movie.because the tempo of the movie was slow and so depressive.
second some part of the movie looked like they just put it for the landscape.it s truth that the landscape is perfect but the connection was lost sometimes.
the good things were the lazish dialogs,the relationship between yusuf and "scarlet woman" and the great -and sad- ending
the movie was started about some politic issues that this topic was used lots of times in Turkish cinema.there was no diversification.yes maybe the movie is only about that but it s not so strong in the movie finally.
first there were not so much people.the movie was turning around a couple of people.yes sometimes it can be advantage but it just made me bored in this movie.because the tempo of the movie was slow and so depressive.
second some part of the movie looked like they just put it for the landscape.it s truth that the landscape is perfect but the connection was lost sometimes.
the good things were the lazish dialogs,the relationship between yusuf and "scarlet woman" and the great -and sad- ending
like a huge Caspar David Friedrich painting.
yusufpiskin23 December 2019
"You know, you seem like you don't live in the present. It's like you've walked off the pages of a Russian novel. Yusuf, you know what I've been thinking? I wish I could leave everything behind and set off on a long journey with you."
Another piece of wonderful minimalist cinema (i'm nothing if not consistent) this time from a Turkish filmmaker making his debut feature. Yusuf, a political prisoner, is released from jail on health grounds and returns to the tiny village community he grew up in.
As you might expect from that premise this is a film with a political message which is at times forced upon the viewer, a distraction from the contemplative mood of the piece as Yusuf comes to terms with everything he gave up for his ideals, his new found freedom, his mortality and his struggle to reintegrate with village life.
Packed with beautiful vistas and long moody takes without dialogue it is the use of ambient noise, or at times a lack of, that most impressed and so the occasionally invasive use of melodramatic music only served to irritate rather than accentuate the moment.
The sub story of his connection with a young boy and a prostitute are pretty standard narrative devices but never feel arbitrary, which in itself is impressive but the emotional arc they guide you through places them as some of the more impressive uses of the trope I have seen.
Quality low budget world cinema from a strong new voice worth keeping an eye on.
Another piece of wonderful minimalist cinema (i'm nothing if not consistent) this time from a Turkish filmmaker making his debut feature. Yusuf, a political prisoner, is released from jail on health grounds and returns to the tiny village community he grew up in.
As you might expect from that premise this is a film with a political message which is at times forced upon the viewer, a distraction from the contemplative mood of the piece as Yusuf comes to terms with everything he gave up for his ideals, his new found freedom, his mortality and his struggle to reintegrate with village life.
Packed with beautiful vistas and long moody takes without dialogue it is the use of ambient noise, or at times a lack of, that most impressed and so the occasionally invasive use of melodramatic music only served to irritate rather than accentuate the moment.
The sub story of his connection with a young boy and a prostitute are pretty standard narrative devices but never feel arbitrary, which in itself is impressive but the emotional arc they guide you through places them as some of the more impressive uses of the trope I have seen.
Quality low budget world cinema from a strong new voice worth keeping an eye on.
Long, lyrical and somewhat languid
cgyford14 July 2009
Özcan Alper made his feature debut with this long, lyrical and somewhat languid little production that won him best director awards at the Tbilisi and Sofia International Film Festival and marked him out as a director who is going places fast, even if his film is not.
Onur Saylak stars as Yusuf a Turkish dissident released after surviving ten years in one of the country's notorious F type prisons to return to his Black Sea coast home with his health broken and his ideology lost only to run into the ephemeral Megi Kobaladze as Eka a despondent Georgian prostitute incredulous that anyone would expend the best years of their life on a fruitless quest for socialism.
The film maker displays a distinct penchant for classic Russian cinema and literature and unfolds at an excruciatingly slow pace, with the main character actually stopping at one point to watch a slug crawl by, which allows for plenty of long scenic but ultimately unfulfilling shots of the gorgeous Trabzon countryside and little else.
This place is just another prison.
Onur Saylak stars as Yusuf a Turkish dissident released after surviving ten years in one of the country's notorious F type prisons to return to his Black Sea coast home with his health broken and his ideology lost only to run into the ephemeral Megi Kobaladze as Eka a despondent Georgian prostitute incredulous that anyone would expend the best years of their life on a fruitless quest for socialism.
The film maker displays a distinct penchant for classic Russian cinema and literature and unfolds at an excruciatingly slow pace, with the main character actually stopping at one point to watch a slug crawl by, which allows for plenty of long scenic but ultimately unfulfilling shots of the gorgeous Trabzon countryside and little else.
This place is just another prison.
Sadness and Sadness
das-d5 August 2020
Sonbahar represents a realm that metaphorically speaking belongs to silence. Yousuf seems to have that depth with which he can journey from speech to whisper to silence.This film took sadness to a height what I have rarely witnessed in films. The Russian hooker, who is a very young mother too, says to Yousuf, "You know, you seem like you don't live in the present. ... It's like you've walked off the pages of a Russian novel." Exactly that is the point. Everything is past for Yousuf -- even his sadness too -- which is now blank because, as Michail says, everything has gone -- even socialism. Now their girls become hookers. Yousuf remains in the past, he is past everything -- even pains and all. The young boy whom he tries to teach rejects him too. All the memories of university jail and all come like scattered pictures. And that exactly is the depth of blankness depicted in this film. The sad hooker goes away. Only waves rise and fall -- rise and fall -- and everything ends with a death -- a procession of death walking through the valleys.
And one thing to say, the eaarlier review by 'eray-basma' mentioned that Sonbahar tries to be like Tarkovsky. I do not know why she/he said it. But, on my part I can say, for more than the last four decades Tarkovsky is like a god to me, both Tarkovsky and his poet father are like a milestone to me in human culture. But not a single time I remembered him during the movie. When it is only sadness and sadness -- the sadness becomes blank and all pervading. Sonbahar is that. Salute to the director.
Why?
csaltun10 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Without any discrimination, there are some clichés nearly in all the movies. Some movies have one of those clichés and some of them -like Sonbahar- have many more.
First of all the story of the movie! As we all know that there are Vietnam veterans returned to USA and had serious psychological and social problems in their home towns. Finally we fed up after watching tens of movies over the years. Honestly, there is no need to see another one because there is nothing left to know about the situation of those veterans. So if you want to make another suffering Vietnam veteran movie then you need somethings really but really good reason to do it. Otherwise you better to sit down and look for another project. The situation is the same with Sonbahar. There are many movies in Turkey based on a story of some youngs who killed, tortured or at least jailed for long time just because of their thoughts and good wishes for their country. Of course it is depressing to see what they really had while there were fighting, in the jail or their life after the jail etc but again, it is enough. We know what and why happened to these people and Sonbahar does not tell anything different or interesting at all. By the way some critics say that the movie about F-Type prisons -which we all deny as they are fully out of prisoner's/human rights- but I found nothing about F-type prisons in the movie. There are some footages about it like the one in the beginning and sometimes during the movie but there are meaning less if you are not familiar or do not know what and why exactly happened to the prisoners in that prison in Istanbul.
A young man returns to his hometown after having serious health problems in the jail that he was put cause of his political actions. He faces up to himself until he dies. What an interesting story!! Clichés over clichés come one by one during the movie, having the story itself as the biggest one. Similar to many other movies, a person knows that he will die soon and he wants to do the most important things before he passes away. This is what Yusuf also does. He drinks, goes to the mountain in the winter -which is very dangerous- meets with old friends, fights with himself in his mind, becomes close to a woman etc etc etc which are all simple and needless. Another cliché is "dying just after the happening of the one that was waited for". What Yusuf does is, he makes a bagpipe and when he finishes the mouthpiece as a last part, he dies. How strange ! By the way, he has serious difficulties to breath but how he can go to mountain, how he can have sex with a prostitute and finally how he can play a bagpipe with these lungs!! Whatever...
There many other things about the movie but I want to say somethings as a last critic which bored me most. The relation between Yusuf and a prostitute. He meets with that girl and starts fighting to himself later in the movie. The situation is that the girl is from Georgia which was a part of old Soviet Socialist block that means she is a symbol of the politic view of Yusuf. He feels like a ping pong ball in thought as he wants her as a woman but also can not decide how to act by the political side as he is a socialist. What I felt while watching the movie is that the prostitute character does not fit to the movie. It is like the director decided to put her in the movie to tell the changes of the hometown and Yusuf's psychology at political side. But we do not now who she is, what is it going on with her kid etc. She is just there as nobody and have some relation with Yusuf.
So, there is almost nothing interesting to me with this movie. If you have time and like some pastoral scenes then I recommend it. Otherwise it is just a simple movie.
First of all the story of the movie! As we all know that there are Vietnam veterans returned to USA and had serious psychological and social problems in their home towns. Finally we fed up after watching tens of movies over the years. Honestly, there is no need to see another one because there is nothing left to know about the situation of those veterans. So if you want to make another suffering Vietnam veteran movie then you need somethings really but really good reason to do it. Otherwise you better to sit down and look for another project. The situation is the same with Sonbahar. There are many movies in Turkey based on a story of some youngs who killed, tortured or at least jailed for long time just because of their thoughts and good wishes for their country. Of course it is depressing to see what they really had while there were fighting, in the jail or their life after the jail etc but again, it is enough. We know what and why happened to these people and Sonbahar does not tell anything different or interesting at all. By the way some critics say that the movie about F-Type prisons -which we all deny as they are fully out of prisoner's/human rights- but I found nothing about F-type prisons in the movie. There are some footages about it like the one in the beginning and sometimes during the movie but there are meaning less if you are not familiar or do not know what and why exactly happened to the prisoners in that prison in Istanbul.
A young man returns to his hometown after having serious health problems in the jail that he was put cause of his political actions. He faces up to himself until he dies. What an interesting story!! Clichés over clichés come one by one during the movie, having the story itself as the biggest one. Similar to many other movies, a person knows that he will die soon and he wants to do the most important things before he passes away. This is what Yusuf also does. He drinks, goes to the mountain in the winter -which is very dangerous- meets with old friends, fights with himself in his mind, becomes close to a woman etc etc etc which are all simple and needless. Another cliché is "dying just after the happening of the one that was waited for". What Yusuf does is, he makes a bagpipe and when he finishes the mouthpiece as a last part, he dies. How strange ! By the way, he has serious difficulties to breath but how he can go to mountain, how he can have sex with a prostitute and finally how he can play a bagpipe with these lungs!! Whatever...
There many other things about the movie but I want to say somethings as a last critic which bored me most. The relation between Yusuf and a prostitute. He meets with that girl and starts fighting to himself later in the movie. The situation is that the girl is from Georgia which was a part of old Soviet Socialist block that means she is a symbol of the politic view of Yusuf. He feels like a ping pong ball in thought as he wants her as a woman but also can not decide how to act by the political side as he is a socialist. What I felt while watching the movie is that the prostitute character does not fit to the movie. It is like the director decided to put her in the movie to tell the changes of the hometown and Yusuf's psychology at political side. But we do not now who she is, what is it going on with her kid etc. She is just there as nobody and have some relation with Yusuf.
So, there is almost nothing interesting to me with this movie. If you have time and like some pastoral scenes then I recommend it. Otherwise it is just a simple movie.
You can't expect people to understand your political irony and denouncement with just newsreel footages
elsinefilo31 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Özcan Alper's debut, Sonbahar has been one of the most lauded Turkish dramas. Sonbahar tells the story of Yusuf (Onur Saylak) who has been released from a f-type prison in Istanbul on health grounds. Yusuf, whose lungs are ruined in prison, goes back to his village, which is located in Artvin, a Black Sea city on the Georgian border. It turns out that most of the people Yusuf knows have grown older, his childhood friends except Mikail (Serkan Keskin)have left for the city, his father passed away and his only sibling got married. As autumn goes by to let the winter set in, Yusuf hangs around the village with Mikail. Yusuf's Laz mother who speaks only in The Laz language with his son, wants his so to get out of the house more and take some fresh air.(The Laz are an ethnic group who live primarily on the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia.)Yusuf and Mikail goes into town every now and then. At one time Mikail hooks up with two Georgian hookers, Maria (Nino Lejava)and Eka(Megi Kobaladze). Coincidentally,Eka turns out to be the woman whom Yusuf helped to find a Russian novel in the bookshop. The more Yusuf and Eka see each other the more attached they become.For Eka "It's like Yusuf has walked off the pages of a Russian novel." and she wishes she could leave everything behind and set off on a long journey with him. In spite of her efforts to hold on to life and evade her bowery loneliness, Eka is also aware of the impossibility of this love.
The story of the movie sounds startlingly original while Onur Saylak and Nino Lejava's performances as disillusioned individuals embittered with life are highly convincing. On the other hand, the subtext of the movie, the politics of 90s which is called " slice of recent history, exposing the irony, ruthlessness and reality of the period" by the official site of the movie is not clear to a layman. From the flashbacks presented in real-life newsreel footages we understand that Yusuf served his sentence in a prison that is called "f-type" in Turkey but what about the rest? A foreigner layman who knows nothing about these prisons would assume Yusuf did a ten year stint in prison though he had innocent ideals and did nothing wrong.Before F-type prisons were built,prisoners in Turkey would be held in dormitory-like wards with up to 50 or more prisoners. When a new anti-terror code was enacted,it was decided that special penal institutions should be built on a system of cells designed for one to three people. The hunger strike which was briefly mentioned in the movie is directly connected with that decision. As a reaction against the plans to be transferred to these new type of prisons some of the prisoners went on hunger strike back then. In the movie it sounds like Yusuf has wanted nothing more than "socialism" but these prisons are high security prisons built to accommodate members of armed organization and people engaged in drug offenses or organized crimes. What is called "political prisoner" in the movie is not exactly someone who has taken a counter-side against the state with his pencil. Moreover, middle class Anatolian people scrimp and save just to be able to send their sons and daughters to the university. To study in a good department is not as always easy for an Anatolian as it sounds like,say for a European.Most of these parents warn their kids not to involve in anything political. This has been the case since the coup d'etat in 80s. When a youngster is involved in anything political against the state that has always been frowned upon. It does not matter whether to be in 90s or 2000s. In Yusuf's case, ostensibly he may be heartily welcomed only by his mother but no villager takes an open side against him. It seems like everybody welcomes him somehow and this does not look convincing at all. All in all, the movie looks like a tranche de vie of 1990s while it does not say the whole truth and it may be confusing for a layman. Besides, for the first time an internationally known Turkish movie tells the plight of Russian hookers albeit briefly. For a debut, the movie deserves absolutely to be watched but we need movies to be presented in historical accuracy because you can't do much of a justice if you are going to disregard details when you are supposed to "document and criticize a slice of recent history, exposing the irony, ruthlessness and reality of the period."
The story of the movie sounds startlingly original while Onur Saylak and Nino Lejava's performances as disillusioned individuals embittered with life are highly convincing. On the other hand, the subtext of the movie, the politics of 90s which is called " slice of recent history, exposing the irony, ruthlessness and reality of the period" by the official site of the movie is not clear to a layman. From the flashbacks presented in real-life newsreel footages we understand that Yusuf served his sentence in a prison that is called "f-type" in Turkey but what about the rest? A foreigner layman who knows nothing about these prisons would assume Yusuf did a ten year stint in prison though he had innocent ideals and did nothing wrong.Before F-type prisons were built,prisoners in Turkey would be held in dormitory-like wards with up to 50 or more prisoners. When a new anti-terror code was enacted,it was decided that special penal institutions should be built on a system of cells designed for one to three people. The hunger strike which was briefly mentioned in the movie is directly connected with that decision. As a reaction against the plans to be transferred to these new type of prisons some of the prisoners went on hunger strike back then. In the movie it sounds like Yusuf has wanted nothing more than "socialism" but these prisons are high security prisons built to accommodate members of armed organization and people engaged in drug offenses or organized crimes. What is called "political prisoner" in the movie is not exactly someone who has taken a counter-side against the state with his pencil. Moreover, middle class Anatolian people scrimp and save just to be able to send their sons and daughters to the university. To study in a good department is not as always easy for an Anatolian as it sounds like,say for a European.Most of these parents warn their kids not to involve in anything political. This has been the case since the coup d'etat in 80s. When a youngster is involved in anything political against the state that has always been frowned upon. It does not matter whether to be in 90s or 2000s. In Yusuf's case, ostensibly he may be heartily welcomed only by his mother but no villager takes an open side against him. It seems like everybody welcomes him somehow and this does not look convincing at all. All in all, the movie looks like a tranche de vie of 1990s while it does not say the whole truth and it may be confusing for a layman. Besides, for the first time an internationally known Turkish movie tells the plight of Russian hookers albeit briefly. For a debut, the movie deserves absolutely to be watched but we need movies to be presented in historical accuracy because you can't do much of a justice if you are going to disregard details when you are supposed to "document and criticize a slice of recent history, exposing the irony, ruthlessness and reality of the period."
Perfect Cinematography!
jojo_omar24 January 2018
The characters are clearly under-developed, it would've added more depth to the film if there were more conversations, decent ones, and if the stimulating of the memories of prison wasn't through news materials. For more over all the film was a satisfying experience and I'm giving it 9 mainly for the great cinematography.
Sonbahar is NOT political, has few things to say, so it's very slow
eray-basma6 July 2009
The writer & director tries to make a movie like Andrei Tarkovsky or Nuri Bilge Ceylan. But the film contains very few things to say, very few things to show. That's why it is very slow. In the movie characters are so bored that, they don't even talk. There is only 2 beautiful photographic scenes, but it does not worth to be bored for 90 minutes. I have read the comments about Sonbahar (Autumn) in IMDb before I watch it, but I can not see any political views in the movie. The main character was in jail for his political activities, but the film starts after he was set free and there are no political views or arguments in the film. I cannot say a film is political, when it contains criticism of the system/government only in 2 or 3 dialogs.
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