Clair Obscur

Clair Obscur
Directed byYeşim Ustaoğlu
Written byYeşim Ustaoğlu
Produced by
  • Titus Kreyenberg
  • Yeşim Ustaoğlu
  • Marianne Slot
  • Klaudia Smieja
  • Eliza Oczkowska[1]
Starring
CinematographyMichael Hammon
Edited by
Music byAntoni Komasa-Lazarkiewicz[2]
Production
companies
Release date
Countries
  • Turkey
  • Germany
  • Poland
  • France[1]
LanguageTurkish

Clair Obscur (Turkish: Tereddüt) is a 2016 Turkish drama film directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu.[2][1]

Synopsis

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Chehnaz, an attractive, modern woman and her husband Cem live in a hip neighbourhood in Istanbul. Chehnaz has been assigned to a public hospital in a small, remote seaside town to complete her mandatory 2-year duty as an aspiring psychiatrist. While treating her patients during the week, she's mostly looking forward to the weekend and their Istanbul lives. However, during this routine, Chehnaz' sexual problem with her husband becomes more evident - a problem that she is not able to face. After a stormy night the course of Chehnaz's life is changed forever when she meets Elmas, a young woman from the town, who was married-off to a distant relative. Elmas survives as best she can far away from her family in a hostile environment with an older man she doesn't love.[3]

Reception

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The Film Stage gave the film "A−",[4] while CineVue gave it 4/5.[5] The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, saying "Stunning newcomer Ecem Uzun electrifies an intimate women's drama."[6] Similarly, Screen Daily wrote "Ecem Uzun is unnervingly convincing as a girl left traumatised by her marriage, catatonic in her silences and raging like a trapped animal in panic and terror at what fresh ordeal might lie ahead".[7] Exclaim! rated it 7/10.[8]

Accolades

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The film won several awards including best picture at the 53rd Antalya International Film Festival.[9]

At the 2016 Haifa International Film Festival, Clair Obscur received a special mention in the Mediterranean Golden Anchor Competition.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Clair Obscur [programme note]". Toronto International Film Festival. 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Deborah Young (11 September 2016). "'Clair Obscur': Film Review / TIFF 2016". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Betafilm-frontend" (PDF).
  4. ^ "[TIFF Review] Clair Obscur". 11 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Warsaw 2016: Clair Obscur review". 16 October 2016.
  6. ^ "'Clair Obscur': Film Review | TIFF 2016". 11 September 2016.
  7. ^ "'Clair Obscur': Toronto Review".
  8. ^ "Clair Obscur Directed by Yesim Ustaoglu | Exclaim!".
  9. ^ Christopher Vourlias (23 October 2016). "Yeşim Ustaoğlu's 'Clair-Obscur' Wins Top Honors at Antalya Film Festival". Variety.
  10. ^ "The award winners- Haifa International Film Festival 2016". Haifa International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
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