SFFS Screen Presents: Three Monkeys June 26, 2009

Three Monkeys (Üç Maymun, Turkey/France/Italy 2008), a masterful, engrossing film from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Best Director, Cannes 2008), will open on SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas Friday, June 26, 2009.

A man’s agreement to take the fall for his employer’s hit-and-run leads to the dissolution of his family in this quietly heartbreaking film, winner of the Best Director prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. The compensation Eyüp (Yavuz Bingol) will receive in exchange for serving a short jail sentence for his politician boss appears to be well worth it. The large sum will seemingly make things easier for his working-class wife and may help his son pass the entrance exam for university. But the deal only drives the three of them further apart. Though the setup might suggest a melodrama, Ceylan (Distant, Climates) takes the material in a different direction with his trademark restraint, allowing revelations to unfold unexpectedly in the spaces between shots and words spoken. As in his earlier films, the characters’ growing isolation is expressed through the breathtaking and evocative landscapes that dwarf them, expanses in which natural elements have an almost tactile presence. Istanbul is as much a character as the family members themselves, with its oppressive summer heat and the lonely sounds of the port weighing on every scene. Three Monkeys confirms Ceylan’s talent for crafting intensely personal stories from some of the most sensual images being committed to film today.

Written by Ebru Ceyland, Ercan Kesal, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Photographed by Gökhan Tiryaki. With Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Hatice Aslan, Yavuz Bingöl. 109 min. In Turkish with English subtitles. Distributed by Zeitgeist Films.

At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets are available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at sundancecinemas.com/kabuki with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members receive discounted admission only to SFFS Screen programs and only at the box office, not online or at the lobby kiosks.

Coming soon to SFFS Screen -

June 5: Fados This beautiful film is a tribute to the art of fado, a style of mournful singing which originated in Portugal in the 1820s.
June 12: Munyurangabo A Tutsi and a Hutu set off on a startling journey of reconciliation through the haunted countryside of modern Rwanda.
June 19: Katyn Acclaimed Polish director Andrzej Wajda has created an epic and personal tale about one of WWII's notorious cover-ups.
July 3: Eldorado A pair of outsiders share an absurdist journey through the surreal backwoods of Belgium in this eccentric, melancholy road movie.
July 10: Julia Tilda Swinton gives a riveting performance as an alcoholic turned kidnapper in Erick Zonca’s film, a take on John Cassavetes’ Gloria.
July 17: The Window A bedridden, 80-year-old man takes one last stroll through the beautiful Patagonian landscape in this elegant, lyrical and humanistic film.
July 24: Lake Tahoe A teenager in rural Mexicao struggles to fix the family car in the aftermath of a minor accident and amid deeper emotional undercurrents.
July 31: Lion’s Den A young pregnant woman tries to survive in prison in this Argentinean story of redemption.

For full, complete and up-to-date information on all SFFS Screen programming, including ticket purchasing, visit sffs.org. Information and tickets are also available at sundancecinemas.com.

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org