About Dry Grasses

Synopsis

Nestled away in wintry East Anatolia, public-school art teacher Samet (Deniz Celiloğlu) yearns to leave the sleepy village for cosmopolitan Istanbul. Further disenchanted when he and Kenan (Musab Ekici), a colleague, come under public scrutiny, Samet fears circumstances will keep him in Anatolia and his dreams of a new life permanently out of reach. A silver lining is a budding relationship with Nuray (Merve Dizdar), a fellow teacher and firebrand who develops connections with both Samet and Kenan, forcing Samet to confront what he can't readily accept. Renowned for his nuanced, visually ravishing imagery, award-winning director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA, WINTER SLEEP) capstones the film with one of his greatest sequences, a dazzling metacinematic climax featuring an entrancing performance from Dizdar, who took home Best Actress at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. “Ceylan [is] the living reigning master of Turkish cinema.”—Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times (Critic’s Pick) “Epic . . . Absorbing . . . One of the year’s most visually and intellectually immersive films . . . Featuring superb performances by Deniz Celiloğlu and an electric Merve Dizdar.”—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times“Mesmerizing . . . One of the best films of the year.”—Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine