The Third Page

İsa works as a film extra and is beaten over an accusation of stealing fifty dollars. He is told he will be killed if he does not pay it back. He goes home, takes out a gun and decides to kill himself. That same night the caretaker of the building is found dead. His neighbour Meryem tells him she did it. The subject is not the crime but a man choosing a story for himself. Whenever the chance to learn the truth appears, İsa does not ask; he chooses to believe Meryem, because believing gives him somewhere to stand. The title comes from the third page of the newspapers, and announces how these lives will be reduced to two lines there. The form is Zeki Demirkubuz's known arrangement: enclosed spaces, a fixed camera, a television left permanently on. Little light, long exchanges, and no scene ending on a rescuing cut. The film took four prizes at the Antalya Golden Orange festival including best actress, best screenplay and best cinematography. At the 2000 Istanbul film festival the director was named Turkish director of the year and the film won the FIPRESCI prize. Ruhi Sarı plays İsa and Başak Köklükaya plays Meryem, with Cengiz Sezici in the cast. Who it is for: viewers who like Demirkubuz's cinema and bleak Turkish independent film. Who it is not for: anyone bored by low tempo; the narration is deliberately slow and offers no relief anywhere.