Stills of "May Blue Sky", chairman of the jury of the main competition unit of this year's "Golden Jubilee Award" and one of the representative works of Turkish director Nuri Bige Ceylon
During this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, a series of works by Turkish director Nuri Bige Ceylon, chairman of the jury of the main competition unit of this year's "Golden Jubilee Award", was screened. The famous director who won the Palme d'Or Grand Prix in 2011 for "Once Upon a Time in Asia Minor" and the Palme d'Or in 2014 for "Hibernation", the famous director who has made a deep impression on his personality and has established an irreplaceable position in the international film industry.
In fact, in terms of the number of its works, Ceylon is not prolific in any way. In 1995, he directed his first feature film Cocoon (nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 48th Cannes International Film Festival), in 1998 he directed his feature film debut The Little Town Years (which won the 48th Berlin International Film Festival Caligari Film Award), in 2000 he directed the feature film May Blue Sky (nominated for the Golden Bear Award in the main competition unit of the 50th Berlin International Film Festival), and in 2003, he directed the feature film "Far Away". (Nominated for the Palme d'Or in the main competition unit of the 56th Cannes International Film Festival, the main competition unit - The Grand Jury Prize); in 2006, he directed the feature film "Season For Parting" (nominated for the Palme d'Or in the main competition unit of the 59th Cannes International Film Festival); in 2008, he directed the feature film "Three Monkeys" (nominated for the Palme d'Or and Best Director Award in the main competition unit of the 61st Cannes International Film Festival); in 2011, directed the feature film "Anatolia Past". (Nominated for the Palme d'Or in the main competition unit of the 59th Cannes International Film Festival and nominated for the Best Director Award at the 25th European Film Awards; in 2014, he directed the feature film Hibernation (the Palme d'Or for best film at the 67th Cannes Film Festival and the best director at the 27th European Film Awards); in 2018, he directed the new work "Wild Pear Tree" (selected for the main competition unit of the 71st Cannes Film Festival). With the above nine feature films, plus the 2012 documentary Kusturica: Bad Boys in the Balkans, only 10 in total, how can they become famous in Eurasia and earn a world-class reputation?
Stills from Cocoon
The first is strong identity. Ceylon films touch on a very diverse range of themes, ranging from politics, economics, society, religion, gender, to individuals, families, love, ethics... Moreover, almost every issue and tentacle is placed in the remote Anatolian mountains of Asia Minor: the tranquility away from the hustle and bustle, the desolation of the mountains, the diaphragm of the human heart, the vast skyline, creating a unique environment for revealing the inner relationship between man and nature, between man and man, and between man and himself. In addition, the rhythm of the film is calm, the camera is delicate and beautiful, the characters are vivid, the dialogue is full of philosophy, the countryside is rich and mellow, and the snow scene is beautiful... All of this forms the standard of Ceylon's work, making it a "this" that combines Eurasian cultures. Don't say that the common "heroes see the same" in film creation, it is difficult to imitate deliberately!
The second is long persistence. From 1995, when he directed his first short feature film "Cocoon" to 2014, when he won the Palme d'Or for Best Film at the 67th Cannes Film Festival with "Hibernation", Ceylon has never given up its pursuit: showing the trajectory of life through deep and long mirrors, using poetic narratives and pictures to express its own life thoughts. Hidden deeply, silently. The desires and knots of human nature, the sinking and struggle of the characters, became the motifs of his films. Every two to three years, Ceylon always has a masterpiece quietly appearing, not earth-shattering, not showing mountain dew. However, each work can arouse great attention and touch the attention of everyone, just like a weighty stone thrown into the calm lake, waving a string of ripples, microwave ripples, undercurrents, giving people endless memories and thoughts.
Stills from "Hibernation"
Finally, there is high persistence. Ceylon is resilient, and this toughness is far beyond our imagination. Not only are the scenes of each of his films chosen in the Mountains of Anatolia, his birthplace, but he has always laid out the motif of "love and hate", and the sun and the moon have been tenaciously excavating his human world as always. Just like the father in "May Blue Clouds", after all the family members have left, he still stays in the town, leisurely with nature; it is also very similar to the father and son in "Wild Pear Tree", their starting point and destination are in the deep well, even if they can't dig a clear spring, they must let it live forever. Of course, Ceylon's persistence was eventually rewarded, not only winning the best "Palme d'Or", but also winning the favor of the "Golden Bear".
When I look at Ceylon, what touches him the most is his tenacity and persistence. The famous Turkish poet Yunus Emre of the 13th century once wrote: "I walked along a road and I saw a tall tree, very charming, very sweet". I think that what is precipitated in the depths of Ceylon's soul may be this tradition pioneered by ancestors such as Yunus Emre. In fact, "walking along a road", without distraction and unswerving determination, can also be a universal art law. For life, understand the essence, chew through the essence; for the people, love sincerely, love thoroughly; for art, intensive cultivation, perseverance, in order to plant a "tall" and "charming tree", it is possible to create excellent, enough to pass on the fine products. The Ceylons have embarked on such an indestructible road to heaven. I have to admit that in China's film creation in recent years, there is less advocacy and adherence to this kind of artistic iron law, more chasing fashion and adapting to the situation; more emphasis on commercial value, less emphasis on spiritual bearing; less adherence to artistic duty, more fiddling with technical skills. Some of us filmmakers are too affordable and utilitarian, their eyes are only focused on the market and the box office, and once a certain theme and style are successful, they will rush up, concoct and multiply in large quantities, until they exhaust their last bit of vitality, and they are also known as keeping pace with the times and innovating. As everyone knows, once the heart floats, its foundation is shaken; once art flows, its life withers.
Can Ceylon's 20-year perseverance touch and inspire us?
Author: Li Jianqiang, Professor, School of Media and Communication, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Vice President of China Film Critics Society
Editor: Wu Yu