IKLIMLER

Nuri Bilge Ceylan stars opposite his wife, Ebru Ceylan, as a couple undergoing a painful break-up. But far from raising suspicions of therapeutic self-indulgence, Ceylan's complex, subtle film will repay multiple viewings - especially given his rich, precise use of high-definition digital video. The Ceylans play an Istanbul couple, Bahar and Isa, first seen on a summer holiday, during which something is evidently going wrong between them.
Like its predecessor, Distant, Ceylan's Climates tells a complex, understated story about the emotional distance between people, and about the psychic repressions and unshakable habits that hamper men (undeniably, this is rather more Isa's story than Bahar's, as she is out of the picture much of the time). The maturity of Ceylan's storytelling is evident from his refusal to tell us too much: He prefers silences, and finely-tuned facial expressions provide the nuances we need to fill in the blanks for ourselves. In terms of what faces can express, without ever doing too much, Climates puts Ceylan on a par with Ingmar Bergman. (Jonathan Romney)