How much can a human endure, before all hope is drained off that person? What is the breaking point, where perseverance ends up in the dust bin?
These are the questions that would run through spectators’ mind as they watch Cold of Kalandar , directed by Mustafa Kara, the young rising star of Turkish Cinema.
The film was screened at the 21st International Film Festival of Kerala as part of the International Competition category.
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And just like, some other legendary names from his country, including Nuri Bilge Ceylan, he prefers to tell it all in a slow, contemplative pace.
We start the journey with Mehmet, the protagonist, chipping away at the unyielding rocks, unmindful of the winter slowly setting in. Several years back, he had made enough money to survive by spotting gold in the mountains.
Since then, his luck has been running low. At home, his mother, wife and two children are almost living in penury.
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They want him to bring a regular income by working as a labourer in a mine closer home.
They also want him to sell his bull.
But he chooses to brave the weather and search for gold in the rocks.
It is as much a study of human perseverance, as it is a study of life in rural Turkey. The film, with its sweeping long shots, with Mehmet appearing as a spot in it, also becomes a tribute to the imposing landscape.
His hut, located in the slope of a mountain, becomes the anchor around which all the seasons in their punishing beauty play out.
Like Mehmet, his elder son is on another mad pursuit, to collect enough snails to sell in the market to buy a pair of trousers.
The snail could also be the film-maker’s way of teasing those who are impatient with the slow-burners.
Real, surreal and dreamy visuals pull us into a deeply affecting story of one man holding on to hope despite setbacks at every turn.
The film is Turkey’s entry for the Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars this year.