The Wild Pear Tree (Ahlat Agaci)

An Eastern European version of The Graduate - if The Graduate were dour, without sex and three hours long.

The Wild Pear Tree brilliantly illuminates the gap in life between what is desired and what is achieved, but the metaphorical light seeps into the frame rather than fully exposing it.

In his 2014 Palme d'Or winner, Ceylan unpacked thorny issues of ethics and morality with a surgeon's steady patience; he employs a similar approach here, only the territory is much less fertile.

Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan looks at his country through the prism of a grim coming-of-age tale stripped of lyricism and joy.

A philosophical journey through the mind of an aspiring artist trying to figure out who he is and where he belongs.

Ceylan may not be a filmmaker who compromises his style, but with The Wild Pear Tree, he manages to inject familiar emotions into a movie that's all about wrestling creative ambitions into a relatable whole.

The Wild Pear Tree is an extremely dense, rich, challenging, lengthy movie.

The Turkish auteur's new work is expansive in length, but in this instance it also has the spark of (contrarian) youth and a prickly sense of humour.

This is a quiet, often beautiful and powerful film that resonates with the viewer long after the credits roll.

The Wild Pear Tree is a humane masterpiece that slowly creeps up on you, beautifully made and magnificently acted.

In its absorbing to and fro of mood and dialogue, The Wild Pear Tree brilliantly conjures the moments when people at odds with each other can suddenly connect.

It's a wealth of flowering expression on the intimate subject of loss.