Three Monkeys (2008) - Nuri Bilge Ceylan

On the eve of an election, a succesful businessman running for public office gets into a serious car accident, killing a pedestrian on an isolated road.  Fleeing the scene of the crime, Servet contacts Eyup, his driver, making him an offer he can't refuse.  If Eyup takes the fall, Servet agrees to continue paying his salary as well as a lump sum of money when he is released.  Living in a modest flat with his wife, Hacer, and son, Ismail, Eyup knows they could use the money and agrees to take the fall.  Nuri Bilge Ceylan's beautifully composed Three Monkeys is the closest thing to a melodrama one could imagine from the talented filmmaker.  At its core, Three Monkeys is essentially a story about an affair between Hacer and Servet that begins to unfold, with Hacer's son discovering the truth unbeknownst to Eyup.  What makes this film so compelling though is how Ceylan raises the biggest question about this deception, examining how truth and lies intertwine, questioning if some truths are better left unknown.  The story is nuanced, the characters are well-developed, and Ceylan examines these souls trapped by class, sorrow, guilt, and greed.  Enough cannot be said about Ceylan's gorgeous visual design, with beautiful cinematography and compositions which leave little doubt that Ceylan is one of the most impressive contemporary artists working today.  Three Monkeys was the last of Ceylan's films I had to see, and it has become clear that not only is he one of the best contemporary filmmakers working today, he seems to be getting better and better with each successive film.

---