Rent The Small Town (1997)

Seemingly Slight, but Deeper than you think - The Small Town review by Cato

A Turkish film is a rare treat, and this one was very interesting. It's set in a forest where a family has gone, presumably for a day out. and there are tensions among the characters, who stay until the next morning. There are some arguments, and the old grandfather relates his wartime activities, which seem to have been in the first world war. His son, a professor of philosophy, argues with his brother about the world, whilst his son goes off into the forest, and finds a tortoise, that he inverts onto it's back, even though his mother has told him that the animal will die in that position. We see the animal struggling late on in the film - this has not been a pleasant act on the part of the boy. This somehow ties in with the rather depressing nature of the film, but the fact the rather sour atmosphere that the males create in their conversations and activities has beens produced in such an idyllic natural atmosphere and the sweetness of the women surpasses the spleen of the men. A very thoughtful film.