The Wild Pear Tree

Original title: Ahlat Agaci

2018
3h 8m

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

29K

YOUR RATING

Dogu Demirkol in The Wild Pear Tree (2018)

A Cinema Guild Release. Opens January 30 at Film Forum (https://bit.ly/2UKbclR).

Sinan (Aydin 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 Nuri Bilge 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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Drama

An unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.An unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.An unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

29K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 10 wins & 15 nominations

Trivia
According to Nuri Bilge Ceylan, The Wild Pear Tree is about a son's unavoidable slide towards a fate resembling that of his father.

Quotes
Sinan Karasu: When we learn we are not so important why is our instinct to be hurt? Wouldn't it be better to treat it as a key moment of insight? We engender our own beliefs. Thus we need to believe in separation as much as in beauty and love, and to be prepared. Because rupture and separation in wait for everything beautiful. In which case, why not treat these tribulations as constructive disasters that help us pierce our own mysteries.

Connections
Features The Hopeless Ones (1971)

Soundtracks
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Leopold Stokowski

User reviews79

Review

Featured review

9/10

Witty and Beautiful

The wind rises as Sinan and Hatice kiss at a spring on the outskirts of the forest. It is the threshold of many things, not merely the forest. A few steps in the right direction will lead to love and the fulfillment of dreams. The wrong steps invite heartbreak and the crushing weight of societal expectations. Which way to go?! While Sinan inspires Hatice to let her hair down, a big step in Turkey, he can't seem to help himself. The gambling addiction, fawning desire to please and wild schemes of his father are not where Sinan wants to go, yet understanding his father is the key to understanding himself, for better or worse. Wild pears are isolated misfits, and so are father and son.

This witty and beautiful film is full of metaphors, wonderful imagery and deep, intriguing conversations. The film revolves around many interesting themes. Among these themes is that ruptures in the soul should be treated with joy and patience for they help us discover who we are. The cinematography is luminous, mesmerizing and far ranging from lamp lit streets at night, rainfall and close-ups of Hatice's flowing hair. I want to linger in each place. It is a long film, but for what it reveals about contemporary Turkish society and human nature, it is a fantastic bargain and worth the price. From the director of Winter Sleep and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. Seen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.