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Kalandar Soğuğu

Cold of Kalandar (Kalandar Soğuğu)

Movie · 2015 · 9 people

In the Black Sea mountains Mustafa Kara set his Turkish drama Kalandar Soğuğu, known in English as Cold of Kalandar, which he directed and co-wrote with Bilal Sert. It is a Hungarian-Turkish co-production of about 139 minutes. Kara cast non-professional actors.

At its centre is Mehmet, played by Haydar Şişman, who is also a primary school teacher; the other lead, Nuray Yeşilaraz, is a nurse in Trabzon. Mehmet lives with his family in a mountain village, keeping a few animals and searching the mountains for minerals. As his hopes fade he turns to the bullfights in Artvin, and the disappearance of a bull the family treats as one of their own sends the story on an unexpected search.

Filming began in 2012 and ran under harsh conditions over four periods to catch the seasons. Winter and spring scenes were shot in Şimşirli village (2000 metres, Trabzon's Maçka district), the rest in Artvin's Murgul district. It received funding from a European audiovisual fund and the Ministry of Culture, and TRT co-produced. The film premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on 28 October 2015, reached Antalya on 30 November 2015 and opened in cinemas on 16 September 2016. Turkey picked it for the 89th Academy Awards' Foreign Language Film race, but it missed the shortlist.

DirectorMustafa Kara
Cold of Kalandar (Kalandar Soğuğu) Cold of Kalandar (Kalandar Soğuğu) Cold of Kalandar (Kalandar Soğuğu)

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Cast

Haydar Şişman Haydar Şişman Actor · 60 years old Mehmet Nuray Yeşilaraz Hanife Kara İbrahim Kuvvet Temel Kara Muzaffer Şen Hasan Fehmi Hizal Tuncer Salman Tuncer Salman Actor · 61 years old Ahmet Turan

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Mustafa Kara's pursuit of realism runs through every choice in the film: non-professional actors, harsh conditions in the Black Sea mountains, and a shoot spread over four separate periods to capture the cycle of the seasons. That patience creates a texture that brings the weight of nature and labour onto the screen; the people do not look placed in the setting but grown out of it. Yet the same attitude also turns into a lack of discipline in the editing: the long running time sometimes pushes a demanding, observational narrative into stasis. Still, its selection as Turkey's Oscar submission shows this uncompromising approach was taken seriously. A film that rewards the patient viewer generously and knowingly risks losing the rest.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Cold of Kalandar looks at the life of a family trying to get by on a few animals in a high mountain village on the Black Sea, and does so without romanticising it. Mehmet spending his free time prospecting for ore, then pinning his hopes on the bull wrestling in Artvin, shows how narrow a space a rural living is squeezed into and how luck comes to look like a way out. The bull, regarded as one of the family, is a reminder of how deep the bond between people and animals runs in village life. Having a real teacher and a nurse in the leading roles gives the work a documentary authenticity.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

It is about a village family and their bull. In terms of subject matter there seems to be nothing that rules out watching with children, but the real problem is length and pace. The film moves very slowly, with little dialogue and long scenes. Children will most likely get bored, and even adults will need patience. It suits grown-ups who love nature and village life better.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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