About Dry Grasses | Fresh Takes

Fresh takes and film reviews from new voices in film.

Eleanor & Sharon

17 Jul 24

Fresh Takes is a space for the latest generation of film lovers to share their views and opinions on some of the great films we are showing at Picturehouse cinemas.

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Here are some Fresh Takes on About Dry Grasses. Sharply written and beautifully shot, About Dry Grasses is an engrossing and daring new film from the acclaimed, Palme d'Or winning writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

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Eleanor, 22

Eleanor is a film programmer based in London with particular interests in archives, diaspora, and slow cinema. Check out her upcoming curatorial projects here.

Eleanor says...

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's new film takes place in a small, rural eastern Anatolian village, which only has two distinctive seasons, summer and winter; no transition segues one into the other. This place's petulant and unruly temperament seems to chime with the people who inhabit it—volatile and ungraspable.

As seen in Winter Sleep and The Wild Pear Tree, long shots teeming with pugilistic lines continue to mark the directorial style of the Turkish auteur in the recent decade. Through magnificently crafted dialogue, the film unveils the violence, collision of ideas, and reckless harm perpetuated in human relationships. The endless moral debates show the indispensable influence of Russian literature on the director.

About Dry Grasses' words of wisdom are undoubtedly thought-provoking, but Ceylan's truly masterful strokes lie in the blank spaces that punctuate lengthy conversations, where brimming emotions, tensions, and contradictions embedded within and between characters could not contain themselves any longer, leaking out before the camera.

Have patience, and About Dry Grasses' melancholy tale will reveal itself. If you have a penchant for savouring nuances in everyday interpersonal interactions, much like those captured in films by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi and Hong Sang-soo, these three hours will be a guaranteed great time for you.

Sharon, 24

Every friend group needs a designated film friend, and when I'm not fulfilling that purpose, I'm building apps at a behavioural science start-up.

Sharon says…

This film is every secondary school English teacher's dream – PLENTY of dialogue, interesting themes and complex characters. While About Dry Grasses' 3hr 17min runtime may seem daunting to the casual film watcher, believe me, this film is well worth your time and patience. It is a beautifully layered and delicate piece.

Reading the film summary before the screening, I went in with a lot of preconceived notions. However, Ceylan shattered all of that through his masterful direction and storytelling. This is further supported by an incredibly strong cast who were able to capture the complexities and nuances of being human effortlessly. I was genuinely surprised by the depth displayed by the main character, Samet (played by Deniz Celiloglu), throughout the film. I also loved how photography was a key component of this film - it really helped to paint a picture of the people and places of rural Anatolia.

This is the first Nuri Bilge Ceylan film I've seen. While I don't necessarily gravitate towards foreign language films – I know, I'm missing out – I'm excited to start exploring and discovering more hidden gems.

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