DVD & Blu-ray: ABOUT DRY GRASSES / KURU OTLAR USTUNE (2023) - Janus Contemporaries

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Product Description: The latest existential epic from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a masterclass in characterization, atmosphere, and moral and philosophical inquiry. When he comes under scrutiny for misconduct, cynical middle-school instructor Samet (Deniz Celiloğlu) fears that his punishment will trap him in the snowy, isolated Anatolian village he has grown to despise. The only ray of hope is his relationship with Nuray (Merve Dizdar, who won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival), a fellow teacher who openly challenges Samet’s bitter narcissism—yet Samet’s friendship with his colleague and roommate, Kenan (Musab Ekici), who also has feelings for Nuray, hangs in the balance. Using hypnotic long takes and other bold formal techniques to convey the murky motives of its Dostoevskian protagonist, About Dry Grasses proves Ceylan to be one of cinema’s most incisive investigators of the human condition.

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New on DVD & Blu-ray: DISTANT / UZAK (2002)

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Product Description: Mahmut is a relatively successful commercial photographer who has been struggling to come to terms with the growing gap between his artistic ideals and his professional obligations. His tedious workload, coupled with the lingering loss he still feels for his ex-wife (newly married and on the verge of leaving Istanbul for Canada), leaves Mahmut clinging to the melancholic and obsessive routines of his solitary life.

Without warning, Mahmut’s distant relative Yusuf arrives in Istanbul determined to find a job aboard a ship so that he may fulfill his dream of traveling around the world. In need of a place to stay as he searches for work, Yusuf imposes himself on Mahmut, who resents the sudden intrusion, but nonetheless feels obliged to help his family. It doesn’t take long for Yusuf to discover that the work he is looking for isn’t available, but he manages to prolong his stay with Mahmut by formulating stories that would suggest otherwise. His hope waning, Yusuf resorts to spending his days drifting through the streets of Istanbul, slowly coming to the realization that without work he may soon need to return home. Mahmut tries to help by offering him a job as his assistant during a photography shoot, but the fix is temporary. As the two men struggle to make a connection, communication is slowly reduced to the bare minimum; and their time together must come to an end.

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DVD & Blu-ray: THE WILD PEAR TREE (2018)

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Product Description: Sinan (Dogu Demirkol), an aspiring writer, returns home after university hoping to scrape together enough money to publish his first novel. He wanders the town encountering old flames and obstinate gatekeepers and finds his youthful ambition increasingly at odds with the deferred dreams of his gambling-addict father (Murat Cemcir). As his own fantasies mingle with reality, Sinan grapples with the people and the place that have made him who he is. Following in the great tradition of family dramas like Death of a Salesman and Long Day s Journey Into Night, The Wild Pear Tree weaves an evocative tale of creative struggle and familial responsibility with inspired performances, sumptuous imagery and surprising bursts of humor. It s one of Ceylan s most personal works to date, a film as rich, layered and uncompromising as the novel its headstrong hero is working to publish.

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WINTER SLEEP Wins the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival winners have been announced. The jury led by Jane Campion ("The Piano") awarded the Palme d'Or to turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan for his drama "Winter Sleep" ("Kis Uykusu"). This is only the second time a Turkish director has won top honors, after Yilmaz Guney and Serif Goren won for "The Way" in 1982. Nuri Bilge Ceylan has been previously nominated four times for the Palme d'Or. The directing prize was bestowed on Bennett Miller for the drama "Foxcatcher" starring Steve Carell and Channing Tatum. Julianne Moore won the best actress award for David Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars", while Timothy Spall earned the best actor prize for Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner".

Here is the full list of winners:

Palme d’Or: Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Grand Prize: Alice Rohrwacher by Le Meraviglie

Best Male Performance: Timothy Spall in Mr. Turner by Mike Leigh

Best Female Performance: Julianne Moore in Maps to the Stars by David Cronenberg

Best Director: Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher

Best Screenplay: Leviathan by Andreï Zviaguintsev

Jury Award: Mommy by Xavier Dolan and Goodbye to Language by Jean-Luc Godard (tie)

Caméra d’Or: Party Girl

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