November 5, 2014, 7:30 p.m. — The Small Town (1997), Cocoon (1995)
The Small Town
1997. Turkey. Screenplay by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Emin Ceylan. With Chiat Bütün, Emin Ceylan, Fatma Ceylan, Havva Saglam. Drawn from a story by Ceylan’s sister, Emine, and based on events from the director’s childhood, Kasaba captures four seasons in a Turkish village. Shot by Ceylan in a soft light, the film drifts through a series of sketches amplified by lyrical touches, climaxing in an extended sequence that finds three generations (the grandparents are played by Ceylan’s own mother and father) gathered around a fire on a summer night, eating roast corn and exchanging observations on life and change. Ceylan’s feature debut, Kasaba reveals his debt to Anton Chekhov in its rueful, sympathetic portrait of provincial life. 82 min.
