THE PILLAR OF SALT
by Burak Çevik
synopsis
A pregnant young woman who lives in a sort of cave is looking for her vanished sister, yet this plot summary hardly does justice to the charm, richness and radical nature of Burak Çevik’s first feature – all of which a result of the liberties he takes in creating an extravagant cinematic world to tell this story. The protagonist leaves her almost fairytale-like cave to set out across a river, taking up her sister’s trail. This trail leads her to a botanical garden, a bird shop, and a darkroom. The photo lab technician compares the effect of photographs to God turning Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt because she couldn’t resist the temptation of turning around to see Sodom be destroyed. Captured for eternity, transfixed for eternity – should we take it at face value when the protagonist tells the boatwoman that she is a part-time vampire? The dreamlike way in which the film digresses to show us a plant, a strip of negatives, or a table tennis match contributes considerably to the strange fascination it develops. Some things remain mysterious – which only makes us even more curious about what they might be referring to.
international title: | The Pillar of Salt |
original title: | Tuzdan kaide |
country: | Turkey |
sales agent: | Pascale Ramonda Paris |
year: | 2018 |
genre: | fiction |
directed by: | Burak Çevik |
film run: | 70' |
screenplay: | Burak Çevik, Burak Serin |
cast: | Zinnure Türe, Dila Yumurtacı, Esme Madra, Banu Fotocan, Elit Iscan, Nihal Koldas, Reyhan Özdilek, Ayşe Demirel, Nazan Kesal, Nalan Kuruçim |
film editing: | Burak Çevik |
music: | Ozan Tekin |
producer: | Burak Çevik, Arda Çiltepe, Semih Gülen, Cem Celai Bilge, Selman Nacar |
production: | Fol Film (TR) |