The Wild Pear Tree

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Peter W 01/09/2025 Stay with it and be rewarded. Nuri Bilge Ceylan cleverly takes us on an inner road trip of the protagonist, tempting us to judge and simultaneously empathise. The characters are beautifully drawn, the dialogue intelligent, raising more questions than answers and enabling a self-critique of the director’s homeland. No one touches anyone else, except in a violent episode, reinforcing the isolation and relational distance of the characters. The music’s occasional but repeated theme is subtly brought in to great effect. Worth the long watch, perhaps with strong coffee and Turkish delight. See more 06/28/2021 This is the kind of movie that requires a lot of investment from the viewer -- in terms of time and in terms of attention. But, it is so visually and artistically appealing and rewards on many levels. Loved it. See more 09/11/2020 A contemplative exploration on the human condition, culture and life. Ahlat Agaci's slow pace may deter audiences, but patient viewers will be rewarded with a richly moving portrayal on existentialism. See more 08/30/2020 The Wild Pear Tree (Turkey, English Subtitles): Sinan has just graduated college and returns home to a small and more rural town, hoping to publish his first book that he refers as an "auto-fiction meta novel" (which in itself reflects the film's ability to get you to constantly try to unpack the narrative). His father is a schoolteacher who has gambled away the family home. He is close to retiring, and at the beginning of the film, he is trying to dig a well on a family plot that everyone says will never run. The film is partly a father-son relationship journey, but it is also the story of a young, post-college idealist who is at times obnoxious in his pomposity but is also trying to find a place for himself in the world. It is a period in time many of us coming out of college go through when we know without a doubt that we have all of the answers and that it takes life, living, and experience to recognize that we don't. The dialog is deep, and I think that I may have to see it again at some point to capture more of the depth of the conversations about religion, writing, and art. The acting is wonderful, and the cinematography is gorgeous. The Turkish landscapes are exquisite. There is a scene early in the film when Sinan runs into an old girlfriend who is getting married. The director captures such beauty in both people in those camera sequences. The film gets a big thumb's up from me. It is on the longish side (a bit over 3 hours), and it is in places "heady", but it is also a powerful and different kind of coming of age story. I loved it. See more dave d 07/01/2020 The Turkish film, 'The Wild Pear Tree', should be admired for what it is. It's ambitious even for Nuri Bilge Ceylan to allow a film to kind of get away from the viewer, only to reel them back in. It didn't work for me. It took me out of film and there's a lot of movie here. Well over three hours and there are stretches that are boring. Not my cup of tea, but it's beautiful and an exquisite performance from Aydın Doğu Demirkol. Final Score: 5.9/10 See more Wayne M 04/27/2020 The Wild Pear Tree is a complex, multi layered film that is beautifully rendered and totally engrossing. The latest film from Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan continues his tradition of long, complex films that shine a light in to the soul of humanity. Like his previous films this one is long, clocking in at over 3 hours. But it never feels too long, it is full of marvellous dialogue that shifts and changes. This film is the story of Sinan, a young man who returns from university to the small town of Can. He hopes to publish a book, named 'The Wild Pear Tree', before he has to potentially take on a mundane career, quite possibly teaching. He returns to living with his family, a mother weary of her marriage and a rather quixotic father who fritters his money away gambling. The fim is dotted with long conversations with various characters. Such as an esteemed writer and two scholarly imams. The conversations reflect on life in modern day Turkey, wich are also indicative of life aorund the world. It is a contemplative film that is rueful but realistic about humanity. Supremely intelligent and full of pathos. See more Read all reviews

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