About Dry Grasses Blu-ray (Criterion Premieres) (original) (raw)

Criterion Premieres / Kuru Otlar �st�ne Criterion | 2023 | 197 min | Not rated | Oct 22, 2024

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About Dry Grasses

(2023)

About Dry Grasses Blu-ray delivers stunningly beautiful video and superb audio in this excellent Blu-ray release

When he comes under scrutiny for misconduct, cynical middle-school instructor Samet fears that his punishment will trap him in the snowy, isolated Anatolian village he has grown to despise. The only ray of hope is his relationship with Nuray, a fellow teacher who openly challenges Samet�s bitter narcissism�yet Samet�s friendship with his colleague and roommate, Kenan, who also has feelings for Nuray, hangs in the balance.

For more about About Dry Grasses and the About Dry Grasses Blu-ray release, see About Dry Grasses Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on August 9, 2025 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Writers: Ebru Ceylan

, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Deniz Celiloglu, Merve Dizdar

» See full cast & crew

About Dry Grasses Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, August 9, 2025

About Dry Grasses is a languorous, ponderous film that unfolds over almost three and a half hours and which has an intentionally static quality a lot of the time, but there is one absolutely astounding moment that "interrupts" this general sense of almost passive immobility with a "meta" interstitial which is probably opaque and baffling by design. It might jokingly be stated that Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan offered this bizarre vignette in order to give audiences something to think about in an otherwise weirdly unhistrionic treatment of one of the most histrionic subjects imaginable: young female students accusing older male teachers of inappropriate behavior. The fact that all of this takes place in an isolated Anatolian village contextualizes things in an extremely unique manner, making About Dry Grasses rather sui generis, even if certain aspects of the film like its snowbound locale certainly fit in with some of Ceylan's other productions.

The "meta" moment is hinted at in one of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, and if its meaning isn't entirely clear it may be salient to note that About Dry Grasses is in essence a character piece about a teacher named Samet (Deniz Celiloglu) who feels trapped even before he's accused of inappropriate behavior with female students, and this brief travelling shot late in the film (at almost the two and half hour mark) at least gives both Samet and in fact the audience an "escape", if only for a fleeting moment. What ensues also kind of bizarrely touches on quasi m�nage � trois material with regard to Samet and two other (thankfully adult) teachers. The result is very strong on mood, but probably deliberately lacking in any big narrative "arcs".

About Dry Grasses Blu-ray, Video Quality

About Dry Grasses is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion's Janus Contemporaries imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Unlike "standard" Criterion releases, most of these contemporary releases I've been reviewing do not include any technical information on the cover or insert leaflet. The IMDb lists the Sony Venice and 4K DI as the relevant data points. This is a really stunning looking presentation throughout, one that easily segues from the near "whiteout" conditions of some of the outdoor material to gorgeously burnished interior scenes that provide perhaps surprising amounts of detail (and shadow definition) despite what appears to be natural limited lighting. Detail levels are typically excellent in close-ups and even midrange shots, though fine detail understandably ebbs in some of the wider vistas that Ceylan is fond of providing.

About Dry Grasses Blu-ray, Audio Quality

About Dry Grasses features a nicely expressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Turkish. A lot of the film takes place in relatively cloistered environments, like the huddled living room where Samet and housemate Kenan (Musab Eki̇ci̇) hang out, but even so the side and rear channels are nicely populated with good ambient environmental effects. Outdoor material, notably some of the windy snow scenes have even more surround energy. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

About Dry Grasses Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

Had it not been for that totally odd disjunctive "meta" moment rather late in this story, it would have been "easy" (if that's the right word, considering the somberness of this effort) to "write off" About Dry Grasses as another incredibly talky, narratively static effort from Ceylan. And, really, a lot of About Dry Grasses is undeniably talky and narratively static. But there's something else stirring beneath the surface of the stasis this time out, kind of like those dry grasses attempting to poke through feet of icy snow. Technical merits are first rate and the interview with Ceylan is very interesting. For those with a bit of patience and without a need for everything to be spelled out in detail, Recommended.

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