Climates (15)

Climates is a bleak, unsparing depiction of the break-up of a middle-aged academic, Isa, and his younger girlfriend, Bahar, over three different seasons. First, their relationship withers on a sun-baked summer holiday; next, Isa blunders through autumn in stormy Istanbul; and finally, in the snowy winter, he tries to win Bahar back.

Climates is written and directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, the Turkish maker of Uzak. He also stars as Isa, while his own wife Ebru Ceylan, above, plays Bahar, an arrangement which calls to mind Woody Allen, circa Husbands And Wives, except with Allen's dialogue replaced by penetrating, almost silent close-ups. One unbroken shot of Ebru Ceylan's face as she melts imperceptibly from laughter to tears should be studied in acting classes, just as her husband's masterly control of mood could be analysed by aspiring directors. When you're watching the summer scenes, you'll be sweating; in the winter ones, you'll shiver.