About Dry Grasses – Movie Review
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Writer: Akin Aksu, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Screenplay)
Cast
- Ece Bagui
- Deniz Celiloglu (Miracle in Cell No. 7)
- Merve Dizdar (Snow and the Bear)
- Musab Ekici (My Father’s Wings)
Plot: A young teacher hopes to be transferred to Istanbul after four years of mandatory service in a remote village, but is accused of inappropriate contact by two students. After losing hope, a colleague offers him new perspectives on life.
Runtime: 3 Hours 17 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: About Dry Grasses starts when a teacher Samet (Celiloglu) looks to leave a small village and head back to the big city. He has always supported his students and the residents of the local area. However, his life gets turned upside down when one of his students Sevim (Bagci) leans on him more and his supporting nature causes problems.
Samet finds himself accused of inappropriate contact, which leads to his needing to clear his name. However, the news travels fast and the village makes up their own mind, leading to him facing a fight to save his reputation.
Verdict on About Dry Grasses
About Dry Grasses is a drama following a hard-working teacher who sees his reputation shattered by an accusation from one of the students. He must uncover the truth and prove his innocence to maintain the career that he worked so hard for.
This movie takes us into the reality of false accusations, the damage they cause and how people try to recover. It shows the teacher who life gets turned upside down and the friends that help him rediscover what was important to him. This goes in a different direction to ‘The Hunt’ which focuses purely on dealing with the situation unfolding. Here, we focus more on the person trying to recover and redeem their career. This is a long movie and it can feel it at times, it does feel like we could have easily had the same story told in a much more trimmed-back runtime. Even if the message is clear, it doesn’t need to be over 3 hours long.
Where to Watch
About Dry Grasses comes to cinemas on the 26th July.
Final Thoughts – About Dry Grasses has an important story, that gets caught up in the extended runtime.
